I Like What They Write Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wilbur Smith

Smith's books have sold squillions, and several have been made into movies. Most have been based on historical incidents, such as the Matabele Wars of the 1870s ('Men of Men'), the independence of Zimbabwe ('The Leopard Hunts in Darkness') and the Sharpeville Massacre ('Rage').

He has even written a series about Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs. Wonderfully engrossing novels and well worth the read.

Answer: Arthur Hailey

His first book, 'Flight into Danger', is a story about a flight where both pilots are stricken by food poisoning, and a reluctant passenger has to fly the plane. Sound familiar? It is the same plot that was spoofed in the very funny 1980 movie 'Airplane!' (also known as 'Flying High'). I have read 'The Moneychangers', 'Wheels', 'Hotel' (the basis for a TV series), 'Overload' and all his other titles, many times.

Alex Haley wrote 'Roots', Edmund Halley was the man with the comet, and Haile Gebrselassie was an Ethiopian marathon runner.

Answer: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

The restaurant, known as Milliways, was delicately poised at the end of the time/space continuum, and the nightly floorshow consisted of the universe being destroyed.

Douglas Adams wrote a couple of sketches for the 'Monty Python' television series and he also wrote material for 'Dr Who'. He was an accomplished guitarist and played a couple of guest appearances with Procul Harum and Pink Floyd. Adams was only 49 when he died of a sudden heart attack in 2001.

PS- an alternative answer is 42, but I am not going to tell you why! You will have to read the books to find out...

Answer: Jeremy Clarkson

Clarkson has made a living out of rubbing people the wrong way, but in the words of a BBC spokesman, "Jeremy's colourful comments are always entertaining, but they are his own comments and not those of the BBC. More often than not they are said with a twinkle in his eye."

He has written quite a few books, mostly collections of his best newspaper columns, and almost all of them a laugh-a-minute, unless of course, you happen to be Welsh, vegetarian, gay, Indian, a Scottish politician, a BMW worker, a Porsche driver, a greenie, a cyclist, a golfer, an Australian, or any combination of these. If this is the case, you will probably only laugh every second minute!

May and Hammond (probably one of the shortest people on British TV), are his co-presenters on 'Top Gear', and Julian Clary is a very campy British comedian.

Answer: WWII

Uris served in the US Marines, enlisting shortly after Pearl Harbour. He fought in several crucial Pacific hotspots, but unlike many of the characters in 'Battle Cry', he lived to tell about it.

He kept the writing success boiling with 'Exodus' (1958), which was a powerful story about the creation of Israel. (Uris was part Jewish). 'Mila 18' was set in a Polish ghetto, 'Topaz' is a Cold Way spy novel, 'Trinity' tells of the Irish uprisings, but my personal favourite is 'QBVII', a tense courtroom drama, about alleged atrocities by a doctor in a WWII concentration camp.

He died in 2001, at age 78.

Answer: Max Walker

Maxie got his nickname from his awkward bowling action; he looking like he was trying to insert his right elbow into his left earhole! He played 34 Tests and took 138 wickets, so he must have been doing something right.

After he retired, he went into cricket commentary and public speaking, and was a great success in both fields. I have heard him speak a few times- the consummate professional. He has authored over a dozen books. My favourites are 'How to Puzzle a Python', 'How to Hypnotise Chooks', 'A Chip Off the Old Block' and several books of sporting jokes.

Richie Benaud was a cricket legend of the 1950s and '60s, Larwood was the English bowler involved in the Bodyline crisis in 1932/33 and Roy Higgins was a champion jockey.

Answer: Archer

Archer was an Oxford Don, a better-than-average sportsman, a ladies man, and was elected as an MP at the age of only 29.

His short story books, such as 'A Quiver Full of Arrows', 'Twelve Red Herrings', 'A Twist in the Tale' will keep you guessing until the last word. He has written more than a dozen novels, many of which have been on top-selling lists around the world.

Answer: Clive Cussler

Cussler has written several series of books, with the earlier novels featuring Dirk Pitt, the man's man hero of NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency). Kurt Austin is Pitt's successor, and St Julien is a maritime history expert, and gourmet. Isaac Bell was introduced in another series, starting with 'The Chase' in 2007.

Most of his novels reflect his own interests, with sunken ships, advanced technology, heroes flitting around the globe, beautiful women and fast cars all featuring prominently. On occasions, he does a Hitchcock, adding himself as a minor character in his books.

Of the incorrect answers, Al Giordino is Pitt's sidekick, Juan Cabrillo is the star of the 'Oregon' series, and Alistair MacLean was another brilliant author who wrote adventure thrillers from the 1950s to the 1980s. (Shameless plug- I have written a quiz on his works- I think you will enjoy it!)

Answer: Dan Brown

'The Da Vinci Code' polarised opinions. Some say it was badly researched with many factual errors, or that some of the religious material was defamatory of the Catholic Church; personally, I loved it! If you are one of the 17 known people in the world that have NOT read it, I will not spoil the story for you.

Interestingly, 'The Da Vinci Code' was the fourth of his books, with the first three not making much of an impression, but once people became aware of their existence, they, too, took off in popularity. The three books are 'Digital Fortress' (1998), 'Angels and Demons' (2000) and 'Deception Point' (2001).

Answer: Tom Sharpe

From exploding ostriches to blow-up dolls being murdered, from shenanigans in the publishing world to affairs between octogenarians and teenagers, Sharpe has it all.

Tom Sharpe was expelled from South Africa in 1961, after living there for ten years. His novels may be 'revenge' against that action. He was born in England in 1928, and later in life he moved to Spain.

Wodehouse also used farce, but in a much gentler, subtler way. Bertie Wooster and Jeeves are oh-so-British and oh-so-readable. Spike's war memoirs make you wonder how the Allies won WWII and Robert Ludlum, although a great author, is not known for humour- he wrote some terrific thrillers.