More Literary Characters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rabbit

Published in 1908, Kenneth Grahame's children's novel tells the tale of four anthropomorphised animals in the woodlands of southern England. Together, Ratty and Mole set off to visit the very proper Mr. Badger. When the grandiose (at least, in his own opinion) Toad finds himself in trouble, it is left to the threesome to come to his rescue.

The best known rabbit in children's literature of that period was created by Beatrix Potter: "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" was published in 1902.

Answer: A Clockwork Orange

Published in 1962, Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange" examines the culture of extreme youth violence in an England of what was then the near future. Alex, the narrator and anti-hero of the novel, is the leader of a gang of troubled youths comprising George, his second-in-command, Pete, the least violent member, and the gormless and appropriately named Dim.

Voted one of the "100 best English-language novels of the 20th century" in 2012, it apparently took Burgess just three weeks to write. Stanley Kubrick's classic film adaptation of the novel, starring Malcolm McDowell as Alex, was released in 1971.

The alternatives are three more best-selling novels from 1962. Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" spawned the award-winning 1975 film of the same name which earned Oscars for Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's tale of life in the Gulag, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich", was adapted for the screen in 1970 with Tom Courtney in the title role. "The IPCRESS File", Len Deighton's debut novel, produced a 1965 film starring Michael Caine.

Answer: Charlie Chan

Born in 1884 in Warren, Ohio, Earl Derr Biggers was a Harvard graduate, but he is probably best-remembered for his series of novels featuring the Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan. The first of the six novels, "The House Without a Key" was published in 1925, the last, "Keeper of the Keys", in 1932, just a year before the author's death.

Answer: Sir Guy of Gisbourne

The Robin Hood stories originate in English folklore, although there have been numerous written and screen versions of the tales over the past century or so. Sir Guy of Gisbourne's first appearance was in "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads" collected by Francis Child and published in 1904.

Originally portrayed just as a thug hired by the evil Sheriff to kill Robin Hood, Gisbourne has also been cast as Robin's rival for Maid Marion's attentions.

Answer: Encyclopedia

The first of the 29 novels featuring child sleuth Leroy Brown was published in 1963, "Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective". The last, "Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme", was published shortly after the author's death in 2012.

Nicknamed "Encyclopedia" because of his huge range of knowledge, Leroy Brown inevitably helps his father, who is Chief of Police in the fictional town of Idaville, Maine, solve whatever case is troubling him.

Answer: Bear

Richard Adams' debut novel, "Watership Down", published in 1972, contains a cast of mostly-endearing bunnies inhabiting the leafy suburbs of rural England. In complete contrast, the follow-up two years later features the terrifying Shardik. The hero is a lone hunter, Kelderek, who pursues Shardik, a giant bear that he believes embodies the Power of God.

Answer: Cordelia

First performed in 1607, "King Lear" is one of Shakespeare's most performed plays. The story is based on the legend of King Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic warrior leader. Shakespeare's play follows the title character's descent into madness after he disposes of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery.

The eldest daughter is Goneril, wife of the Duke of Albany, who is the first to declarer her love for her father. The middle daughter is Regan, wife of the duke of Cornwall, who follows her sister's lead. The youngest daughter, Cordelia, speaks the truth and thus angers her father and gets nothing.
Desdemona is Othello's wife.

Answer: Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot was born a Catholic in the village of Ellezelles, which is not far from the town of Spa in the province of Hainaut, near to Belgium's western border with France. He made his literary debut in "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" in 1920 and appeared in a total of 45 novels, three of which were published posthumously in the 1990s.

The great detective died from complications of a heart condition at the end of "Curtain", written by Agatha Christie in 1940 but not published until September 1975, just a few months before the author's own death in January the following year.

Of the alternatives, Bertie Wooster creator P.G. Wodehouse died in February 1975; the actor who first played Doctor Who, William Hartnell, died in April 1975; and Rex Stout, the creator of fictional detective Nero Wolfe, died in October 1975.

Answer: Anne of Green Gables

Published in 1908, "Anne of Green Gables" has sold more than 50 million copies and been translated into 20 languages. Written by Canadian Lucy Maud Montgomery, it was originally intended for all ages, but is now mostly considered to be a children's novel.

The novel tells the story of Anne, an orphan from Nova Scotia, who is sent to Prince Edward Island by mistake. Sixty-year old Matthew Cuthbert and his younger sister Marilla had offered to adopt a boy to help them on their farm. What arrived was Anne.

Diana Barry is the only girl of Anne's age living near Green Gables and they become close friends. Gilbert Blythe, a classmate of Anne's, attempts to make friends by pulling her red hair and calling her "Carrots".

The alternatives are three more classic novels from around the same period. E.M. Forster;s "A Room with a View" was also published in 1908. E.E. Nesbit's "The Railway Children" was serialized in 1905 and published in book form in 1906. Jack London's "White Fang" was published in 1906.

Answer: Valentine Michael Smith

Described on the cover of some later editions as "The most famous science fiction novel ever written", "Stranger in a Strange Land" won the 1962 Hugo Award for Best Novel. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human child who was born on Mars and brought up by Martians, who comes to Earth as a young adult.
The concept is loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book", but with the child raised by Martians rather than wolves.