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Quiz about Doris Lessing The Golden Notebook
Quiz about Doris Lessing The Golden Notebook

Doris Lessing: "The Golden Notebook" Quiz

"The Golden Notebook" by Doris Lessing, published in 1962, is arguably the most important novel of the 2007 Nobel Prize winner. It's about Anna, a novelist with a writer's block.

A multiple-choice quiz by queenofsheba. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
queenofsheba
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
274,689
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
12 / 20
Plays
321
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
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Question 1 of 20
1. What sentence does Molly often repeat? Hint


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Question 2 of 20
2. Richard visits Molly early in the novel. Who's Richard? Hint


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Question 3 of 20
3. What's the profession of Mother Sugar, otherwise Mrs Marks? Hint


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Question 4 of 20
4. Molly buys strawberries from a man with a hand-cart. Why does Molly say they're too expensive? Hint


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Question 5 of 20
5. Why is Richard worried about Tommy? Hint


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Question 6 of 20
6. How many notebooks does Anna have in the complete novel? Hint


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Question 7 of 20
7. In the black notebook Anna discusses the plans for a film adaption of her first novel. What's the title of that novel? Hint


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Question 8 of 20
8. Anna has a writer's block because she can't find a subject to write about.


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Question 9 of 20
9. Of which political party are Anna and Molly former members? Hint


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Question 10 of 20
10. Which notebook begins like the manuscript of a novel? Hint


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Question 11 of 20
11. What does Mrs Dorothy Brown complain about in her letter to Dr Allsop? Hint


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Question 12 of 20
12. Anna stands to Michael the way Ella stands to ____? Hint


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Question 13 of 20
13. What does the first part of the blue notebook look like? Hint


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Question 14 of 20
14. Anna collects newspaper cuttings. What are they mostly about? Hint


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Question 15 of 20
15. The subtitle of "Free Women 2" is "Two visits, some telephone calls and a tragedy". What's the tragedy? Hint


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Question 16 of 20
16. What does Anna's daughter Janet ask permission for? Hint


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Question 17 of 20
17. What bird is killed on November 11, 1955 according to the black notebook? Hint


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Question 18 of 20
18. Why does Anna throw her lodger Ivor out? Hint


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Question 19 of 20
19. The golden notebook is more expensive than the other ones.


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Question 20 of 20
20. In the golden notebook Saul Green gives Anna the first sentence of a novel she has to write. What's this sentence? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What sentence does Molly often repeat?

Answer: Odd, isn't it?

 She uses it often in intimate conversations with Anna. Molly is based on Joan Rodker, a friend of Doris Lessing.
2. Richard visits Molly early in the novel. Who's Richard?

Answer: Molly's ex-husband

 Molly was Richard's first wife; Marion is his second. Anna's ex is called Max Wulf.
3. What's the profession of Mother Sugar, otherwise Mrs Marks?

Answer: psycho-analyst

 Anna and Molly both used to be clients of hers. Anna wrote about the therapy in her blue notebook.
4. Molly buys strawberries from a man with a hand-cart. Why does Molly say they're too expensive?

Answer: He has no overhead costs

 The man picked the strawberries himself, so he doesn't have to pay anyone else.
5. Why is Richard worried about Tommy?

Answer: He keeps turning down job offers

 Tommy is afraid that a job will determine his identity for the rest of his life. He will accept a job later, after his suicide attempt.
6. How many notebooks does Anna have in the complete novel?

Answer: 5

 Originally she has four notebooks: black for her as a writer, red for her as a (former) communist, yellow for her attempts to write again, and blue for her everyday life. The golden notebook is meant to be a synthesis.
7. In the black notebook Anna discusses the plans for a film adaption of her first novel. What's the title of that novel?

Answer: Frontiers of War

 She has negative experiences with the film people. They want to leave out major parts of the plot and change the title to "Forbidden Love".
8. Anna has a writer's block because she can't find a subject to write about.

Answer: False

She has fifty subjects she could write about, but she doesn't just want to write a competent story. She wants to write a novel that creates a new way of looking at life.
9. Of which political party are Anna and Molly former members?

Answer: British Communist Paty

 Molly became a communist in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War; Anna followed later. They left the Party because of Stalin's atrocities. Doris Lessing is an "old Red" herself.
10. Which notebook begins like the manuscript of a novel?

Answer: the yellow notebook

 Anna tries to write a semi-autobiographical novel called "The Shadow of the Third", but fails to complete it.
11. What does Mrs Dorothy Brown complain about in her letter to Dr Allsop?

Answer: rheumatism

 This happens in the novel-within-the-novel in the yellow notebook. Ella thinks the woman doesn't have rheumatism, but is just lonely.
12. Anna stands to Michael the way Ella stands to ____?

Answer: Paul

 Anna divorced Max, and had an affair with Michael for five years. Ella divorced George, and had an affair with Paul for five years. Anna's novel in the yellow book is based on her own life.
13. What does the first part of the blue notebook look like?

Answer: a diary

 She decides to write about everyday events, because writing fiction seems an evasion.
14. Anna collects newspaper cuttings. What are they mostly about?

Answer: war

 She is so overwhelmed by the magnitude of international problems (Korean War, H-bomb...) that her own little problems seem meaningless. That's the real cause of her writer's block.
15. The subtitle of "Free Women 2" is "Two visits, some telephone calls and a tragedy". What's the tragedy?

Answer: a suicide attempt

 Tommy and Marion visit Anna. Anna calls Molly to say she's worried about Tommy. Tommy shoots himself, but survives. He will be blind for the rest of his life.
16. What does Anna's daughter Janet ask permission for?

Answer: to go to a boarding school

 Anna gives her a very free education, and is surprised to find out that Janet actually wants a traditional education.
17. What bird is killed on November 11, 1955 according to the black notebook?

Answer: pigeon

 A man accidentally kills a pigeon by kicking it on the pavement. This reminds Anna of a pigeon hunt in Africa in her childhood.
18. Why does Anna throw her lodger Ivor out?

Answer: He shares his room with his boyfriend

 Ivor is homosexual. Anna throws his boyfriend Ronnie out, but he secretly moves back in. Then she throws Ivor out.
19. The golden notebook is more expensive than the other ones.

Answer: True

It was manufactured for an American who never came back. The American had already paid a deposit, but the golden notebook is still expensive.
20. In the golden notebook Saul Green gives Anna the first sentence of a novel she has to write. What's this sentence?

Answer: The two women were alone in the London flat

 This is the sentence that finally helps her overcome her writer's block, and also the opening sentence of Doris Lessing's "The Golden Notebook" itself. The reader finds out that the Anna's novel is the one he's just about to finish.
Source: Author queenofsheba

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Referenced Topics
Literature   People   Wild Birds   African Geography   Spanish Language   London   Blue   Nobel Prize Winners   The Color Black   Green   Brown   Doris Lessing  

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