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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.

Author
queenofsheba

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
274,689

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
20

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
12 / 20

Plays
323

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 106 (10/20), Guest 103 (7/20), Guest 157 (10/20).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 20

1. What sentence does Molly often repeat? Hint

Everything's cracking up

I keep saying it

It's the way of the world

Odd, isn't it?

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Question 2 of 20

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

Molly's ex-husband

Molly's son

Anna's ex-husband

Anna's son

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Question 3 of 20

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

psycho-analyst

editress

writer

tv producer

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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

The ones in the shop are cheaper

He has no overhead costs

They're very small

They look greenish

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Question 5 of 20

5. Why is Richard worried about Tommy? Hint

His girlfriend looks conspicuous

He drinks too much

He keeps turning down job offers

He has a health problem

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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

The Good Terrorist

The Grass Is Green

Frontiers of War

The Shadow of the Third

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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.

True

False

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Question 9 of 20

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

British Communist Paty

Conservative Party

Labour

Liberal Democrats

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Question 10 of 20

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

the red notebook

the blue notebook

the black notebook

the yellow notebook

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Question 11 of 20

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

gonorrhea

arthritis

rheumatism

diabetes

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Question 12 of 20

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

Max

George

Cy Maitland

Paul

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Question 13 of 20

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

a collection of letters

a play

a synopsis of a novel

a diary

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Question 14 of 20

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

war

environment

literature

economy

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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

a miscarriage

a divorce

a suicide attempt

the end of an affair

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Question 16 of 20

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

to visit Africa

to stay up late

to go to a boarding school

to wear a miniskirt

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Question 17 of 20

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

starling

pigeon

magpie

trush

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Question 18 of 20

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

She needs the room for herself

He doesn't pay his rent

He shares his room with his boyfriend

He makes too much noise

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Question 19 of 20

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

True

False

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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

On a dry hillside in Algeria, the soldier watched the moonlight glinting his rifle

The two women were alone in the London flat

What's funny?

I can't sleep alone

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 30 2024 : Guest 106: 10/20
Nov 27 2024 : Guest 103: 7/20
Nov 05 2024 : Guest 157: 10/20

Score Distribution

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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