Literature Through the Ages: the 1900s Quiz

Answer: The Good Witch of the North

The elderly and mild-mannered ruler of the Gillikin Country, the Good Witch of the North, is summoned to Munchkin Country when the falling Gale house kills the evil munchkin leader, the Wicked Witch of the East. Accompanied by three munchkins, she is the only one brave enough to approach Dorothy who, everyone believes, must be a great sorceress (having killed the powerful witch). It is she who then introduces Dorothy to Oz, gives her a pair of silver shoes, places a protective kiss on her forehead, and sends her on her way to meet the Wizard.
(Glinda is the Good Witch of the South BTW). In the 1902 stage play, the Good Witch of the North is named as Locasta, whilst she is called Tattypoo in some of Baum's subsequent books in the series.

Other significant novels published in 1900 include Joseph Conrad's "Lord Jim", Jules Verne's "The Will of an Eccentric" and H.G. Wells's "Love and Mr Lewisham".

Answer: Rudyard Kipling's "Kim"

Set during the political conflict between Britain and Russia in Central Asia in the final decade of the 19th Century, Rudyard Kipling's "Kim" provides an insight into the people, culture, religions and superstitions of India. It was voted number 78 in the 1998 poll of "100 best English-language novels of the 20th century" and was was included in the 2003 BBC poll of viewer's "Best-loved novels".
The story's protagonist is the orphan son of an Irish soldier, Kimball O'Hara, who is living in poverty in Lahore, India under British rule. Kim becomes a disciple of Teshoo Lama and accompanies him on his pilgrimage. On the way, Kim meets a horse trader who is also a British spy and he is persuaded to carry a message to the head of British Intelligence...

The alternatives were also published in 1901. Other significant novels published in that year include Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", Émile Zola's "Travail" and Jules Verne's "The Sea Serpent".

Answer: The Virginian

Set in the Wild West, "The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains" describes the life of a cowboy on a central Wyoming cattle ranch. Known simply as "The Virginian", the protagonist's real name is never given.
The story is set in the small town of Medicine Bow in Carbon County WY (population 284 at the time of the 2010 Census). If ever you are passing through, there is a wonderful old hotel (called "The Virginian") at which it is well worth spending a night. Owen Wister, a lawyer from Philadelphia, happened through the town on his travels and based his novel here.
Running for nine seasons and 249 episodes between 1962 and 1971, "The Virginian" is the third-longest running Western TV series after "Bonanza" (430 episodes) and "Gunsmoke" (630). It was also the first Western series to have 90-minute episodes. The tough but highly-respected foreman of the Shiloh Ranch was played by James Drury.

Other notable novels published in 1902 include E. Nesbit's "Five Children and It", W. Somerset Maugham's "Mrs Craddock", A.E.W. Mason's "The Four Feathers", Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" and Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

Answer: Buck

John Griffith Chaney was born in 1876 in San Francisco, California. writing under the pseudonym Jack London, his most famous books are "The Sea Wolf" and his pair of matching Klondike Gold Rush canine stories, "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang".
"Call of the Wild" tells the story of Buck, who starts life as a domesticated pet in Santa Clara Valley CA. Stolen and sold into service as a sled dog in Alaska, Buck has to learn to fight to survive both the harsh conditions and the pack of wild dogs.
"White Fang", the sequel published in 1906, tells the reverse story, of a wild pack hound from Alaska who becomes a domesticated California pet. Both books are beautifully written and are truly heart-warming stories: highly recommended, particularly if you are a dog-lover.

Other notable novels published in 1903 include Robert Erskine Childers's "The Riddle of the Sands", Henry James's "The Ambassadors", Bram Stoker's "The Jewel of Seven Stars" and Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin".

Answer: Mark Twain

Originally published in "Harper's Magazine" in December 1903, Mark Twain's "A Dog's Tale" was expanded and published in book form the following year.
The story is told from the point of view of the dog, a loyal household pet, who describes herself as "My father was a St. Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian."
I won't spoil the story for anyone who hasn't read it yet, except to say that man is not always dog's best friend! Another tear-jerker!

Notable novels published in 1904 include Joseph Conrad's "Nostromo", G.K. Chesterton's "The Napoleon of Notting Hill", O. Henry's "Cabbages and Kings", Jack London's "The Sea-Wolf" and Hermann Hesse's "Peter Camenzind".

Answer: Edith Wharton

Born Edith Newbold Jones in 1862 in New York City, Edith Wharton wrote her first novella, "The Touchstone" in 1900. "The House of Mirth" tells the story of women of New York high society, Lily Bart, who is raised to marry someone rich. Finding herself penniless and an unmarried mother, she is destroyed by the very society that created her. The novel is written in the 'naturalist' style exemplified by the likes of Emile Zola as opposed to the 'romantic' or 'surrealist' styles that were all the rage at the time.
Edith Wharton would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921 for "The Age of Innocence". She would also be nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1927, 1928 and 1930.

Other notable novels published in 1905 include Baroness Orczy's "The Scarlet Pimpernel, Frances Hodgson Burnett's "A Little Princess", Marquis de Sade's "The 120 Days of Sodom" and E.M. Forster's "Where Angels Fear to Tread".

Answer: Three Chimneys

When their father is imprisoned for spying, Roberta, Phyllis, Peter and their mother move into "Three Chimneys", a house alongside the railway. The children make friends with an elderly man who catches the train near their house every morning, and he is eventually able to help prove their father's innocence.
The novel was adapted for the big screen in 1970 and there have been numerous TV serializations.

Other notable novels published in 1906 include Jack London's "White Fang", Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle", H.G. Wells's "In the Days of the Comet" and Rudyard Kipling's "Puck of Pook's Hill".

Answer: Tom

"The Tale of Tom Kitten" was the eleventh book in Beatrix Potter's series which had begun with "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" in 1902. The story features the beautifully-named cat, Tabitha Twitchit, and her three kittens. Tom has subsequently become one of the star characters to emerge from the series, with a "Tom Kitten" painting book released in 1917, a book of piano pieces for children in 1935, and a variety of merchandise including porcelain figurines and cuddly toys.

Other notable novels published in 1907 include P.G. Wodehouse's "Not George Washington", William Dean Howells's "Through the Eye of the Needle", Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Agent" and E.M. Forster's "The Longest Journey".

Answer: Anne of Green Gables

Although originally written for readers of all ages, Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" is now widely considered a children's book. The story tells the tale of the 11-year old orphan Anne Shirley, who is mistakenly sent to live with a middle-aged brother and sister who wanted a boy to help out on their Prince Edward Island farm. We see how Anne fares not only with her new family, but at her new school and with the people of her strange new town.

Other notable books published in 1908 include Alexander Bogdanov's "Red Star", E.M. Forster's "A Room with a View", John Fox Jr's "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine", Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows", William Hope Hodgson's "The House on the Borderland", Gaston Leroux's "The Mystery of the Yellow Room" and W.Somerset Maugham's "The Magician".

Answer: Gertrude Stein

Born in 1874 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Gertrude Stein was brought up in California, moved to Paris in 1903, and spent the rest of her life living in France. "Three Lives" was Stein's debut novel but she was to spend the next 25 years as a relatively cult figure. It was not until 1933, when she published the memoirs of her years in Paris, "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas", which was written with her life partner, Toklas, as the narrator, that she became a best-seller and an international voice of feminism.

Other notable novels published in 1909 include Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Avonlea" and John Masefield's "Multitude and Solitude"