Literature Places Quiz / Test | Places in Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. British author, Graham Greene, published one of his better-known novels in 1938. It is the story of a teenage killer in a British seaside resort, and borrows its name from a local confectionery. What is the title?

Answer: Brighton Rock

'Brighton Rock' has been adapted to film, radio and stage since its publication. It is the story of a salesman, murdered by a juvenile (Pinkie Brown), and the aftermath of the event. Brighton rock, the sweet, is used as an allegory for life.

The three incorrect answers are all figments of my imagination, but sound yummy!

2. 'The Bridges of Madison County' was a book written Robert James Waller in 1992, and made into a movie in 1995, starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. In which US state is Madison County?

Answer: Iowa

Madison County is named after the fourth US president, James Madison. John Wayne was born in the county in 1907.

In 2014, the stageplay of 'The Bridges of Madison County' debuted in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Roseman Covered Bridge (pictured) was built in 1883, and was the featured bridge in the movie.

3. Scottish-born author, Alistair MacLean, penned several thrillers with place names in their titles, however, which of these novels is set in the most northerly location?

Answer: Bear Island

'Bear Island', released in 1971, is a classic MacLean, with lots of twists and turns, a few random deaths and a fast-moving storyline. A film crew is is ostensibly on the way to the remote island to shoot scenes for a movie, but there is a much more sinister reason for the trip. A fortune in gold is hidden there, and our hero, Dr Marlowe, has to sort out the mess. Bear Island is located well north of Norway in the Svalbard archipelago, and is generally uninhabited. The photograph is of the island, taken from a cruise ship.

The three incorrect answers are all MacLean novels, with 'Caravan to Vaccares' being set in southern France. 'Santorini' is a Greek island, and 'South by Java Head' is the story of a treacherous journey in a small boat, from Singapore and through the islands of Indonesia, during WWII.

4. 'A Passage to India' was set in the time of the Raj in the early 20th century, a period of high tension as India wanted independence from British rule. Who wrote the novel, which is considered as one of the masterpieces of English literature?

Answer: E.M. Forster

Edward Morgan Forster tells the story of a racially-charged sexual assault case, where a young Muslim doctor befriends a British woman, who he is (falsely) accused of raping in a cave. After he is eventually cleared, he no longer is as friendly towards the British, and is committed to ending the rule of the Raj.

Pictured is the facade of Meenakshi Amman temple, Madurai.

5. 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' is a folk tale where a magical piper rid the town of rats, by using his captivating pipe music. Is Hamelin a real place?

Answer: Yes

The story dates from the 13th century, but like many folk tales, the true facts will probably never be known. When the town authorities refused to pay the piper for his exterminator services, he lured away all the children, who were never seen again.

Hamelin is indeed a real place, situated in the mid-north of Germany, about 200kms west of Berlin.

6. According to an Australian historical novel set in Victoria in 1900, a group of female students go on a picnic and vanish from which location?

Answer: Hanging Rock

'Picnic at Hanging Rock' is a rather mysterious story. A group of girls and their teachers take a trip to Hanging Rock for Valentine's Day, 1900. Several students and a teacher decide to climb the rock, but inexplicably disappear, seemingly into the rock itself. No trace is ever found, and a long chain of events leads to other strange and tragic episodes, including suicide. The author, Joan Lindsay, was very reluctant to confirm whether the story was based on any sort of fact, but it has baffled readers ever since its release in 1967.

Hanging Rock is a real place- it is a monolith about 70 kms from Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia. Cheviot Beach is where Prime Minister, Harold Holt, disappeared in rough surf, in 1967. Glenrowan was the last stand of bushranger, Ned Kelly, in 1880. The Eureka Stockade was an uprising by gold miners in opposition to digger's licences at Ballarat, in 1854.

My picture is of a rock, hanging from a piece of rope.

7. Victor Hugo's 1831 classic novel, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' is set in the magnificent Gothic cathedral, in the middle of the River Seine, central Paris. Which of these people was NOT one of the main characters in the book?

Answer: Ad�le Foucher

Quasimodo was the hunchbacked bell-ringer in the cathedral, and Frollo was the rather weird bishop. Esmeralda was the beautiful gypsy girl, who almost every one adored, until she was falsely accused of murder, and executed.

Ad�le Foucher was Hugo's wife.

The cathedral (pictured) is situated on the Ile de la Cit�, an island in the very centre of the city- in fact, all distances in France are measured from a point in the courtyard of the building. The first sod was turned in 1183, and building took almost 200 years. It is known for its stained glass windows, and the many gargoyles that decorate its walls.

8. Hawaii became part of the United States in 1959, the same year as the book 'Hawaii' was published. Which well-known author wrote the book, which was the basis for the 1966 movie of the same name?

Answer: James A Michener

Like many of Michener's works, the book was very lengthy, but also a wonderful read. The book tells the story of the islands, from the birth of the islands, their history, and various waves of settlers. The movie starred Max von Sydow and Julie Andrews, and was set against the backdrop of the influx of missionaries in the 1800s.

The picture is Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki.

9. 'Jurassic Park' (the novel) was released in 1990. The park is stocked with dinosaurs that have been cloned from DNA samples, and is intended to be a very unique theme park, until things start going terribly wrong. The location is the fictional island of Isla Nublar, which is off the coast of which small country?

Answer: Costa Rica

The island is off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, and a greedy employee wanted to sell dinosaur eggs to an opposition company. Dinosaurs escaped, people (goodies AND baddies) got eaten, and the island was eventually destroyed (or was it?)!

Steven Spielberg made several movies from Michael Chrichton's book.

10. 'From Russia With Love' (1963) was a James Bond movie, featuring all the usual feats of derring-do, with spies and counter-spies double-crossing each other from go to whoa. Bond is played by Sean Connery, but who is the attractive Bond Girl, Tatiana Romanova, played by?

Answer: Daniela Bianchi

She was an Italian actress and model. Her accent was very heavy, so her voice was dubbed by British actress, Barbara Jefford.

Honor Blackman was the love interest in 'Goldfinger' (1964), Diana Rigg was 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (1969), and Halle Berry was Jinx in 'Die Another Day' (2002).

This rather stunning picture is of the Hall of St Andrew in the Grand Kremlin Palace, in Moscow. The watercolour painting is by Prince Konstantin A. Ukhtomsky, dated 1849.

Source: Author ozzz2002

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Literature Places Trivia Quiz

Some real and some fictional, but all have featured in literature over the centuries.

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