I Ask You Is It Bad To Steal From The Bard? Quiz

Answer: Hamlet

"The Mousetrap" has been thrilling audiences from around the world for as long as HRH Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne. I went to see it in 1974 and it had been running for over twenty years then. No spoilers from me but it is worth going to see as a play as well as for its history. It is the world's longest running theatrical production and is still going strong in London.

Answer: Macbeth

One of the best selling novelists of his time, and a firm favourite of mine, Alistair MacLean (1922-1987) was born in Scotland, the son of a Scottish Minister. He spoke Gaelic until the age of seven. In 1941 the 18-year-old MacLean joined the Royal Navy, where he served on the Arctic convoys. His wartime experiences were to provide valuable material for his fiction.

I thoroughly recommend his suite of novels to anyone who likes a thrilling yarn well plotted without overt sex and violence.

Answer: Hamlet

Anthony Dymoke Powell, who became a Companion of Honour, in 1988 lived between December 21, 1905 and March 28, 2000. He was a British novelist best known for his "A Dance to the Music of Time" (some twelve novels in all).

He was of Welsh extraction and served with the Welch Regiment in World War II.

Answer: King Lear

She was born Danielle Fernande Schuelein-Steel and has had a varied life, including several marriages. She is one of the most successful authors ever. For example, her works were in the list of best-selling books of the 'New York Times' for 381 consecutive weeks, a fact which brought her an entry into the Guinness Book of Records.

Answer: King John

Erle Stanley Gardner lived from July 17, 1889 to March 11, 1970. He was an American lawyer and author of legal thriller and detective stories. He was a prolific writer and had several pseudonyms such as A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray, and Robert Parr. His most famous characters were featured in the novels about Perry Mason and include the faithful secretary Della Street and the ubiquitous private eye Paul Drake. He was a fascinating character and worthy of some further research.

Answer: Macbeth

"By The Pricking of My Thumbs" (published in 1968) was a mystery novel by Agatha Christie featuring her detectives Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. In it, the now ageing detectives meet up with an elderly relative in a nursing home who leaves them a mystery, a painting and some clues. Read it for yourself to find out what happened next.

Answer: Julius Caesar

Frederick Forsyth, (born August 25, 1938) is a contemporary English author, journalist and political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as "The Day of the Jackal", "The Dogs of War", "The Odessa File", "The Fist of God", "Icon", "The Veteran", "Avenger" and recently "The Afghan".

His personal politics and reporting style (there have been accusations of partisanship) has sometimes led him in to conflict with his employers and others.

Answer: Hamlet

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a Russian-born American author and biochemist. Professor Asimov was a prolific writer in many fields and though best known perhaps for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books, he also was a well respected researcher in biochemistry and published across a wide range of academic and social fields.

In his lifetime Asimov wrote or edited more than 500 volumes and an estimated 90,000 letters or postcards,

Answer: Richard III

Steinbeck lived a varied life full of experiences on which he was to draw in his works. He won the Nobel prize for Literature and his acceptance speech should be required reading for any aspiring writer.

This is the conclusion: "In the endless war against weakness and despair, these are the bright rally flags of hope and of emulation. I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature."

Answer: Marcel Proust

Marcel-Valentin-Louis-Eugène-Georges Proust (1871 - 1922) was a French intellectual, novelist, essayist and literary critic. His best known work was "In Search of Lost Time". He was a gifted intellectual and spent much of his formative writing years producing pastiches of other people's style. His own was considered obscure and some people thought the effort of reading him not worth the effort. Marcel Proust would not be every-body's 'cup of tea', as we say in Britain.