Novel Characters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Treasure Island

"Treasure Island" was originally a serialized novel about pirates and buried treasure. It was written by Robert Louis Stevenson and published between 1881 and 1882 in a children's magazine called "Young Folks".

Answer: Herman Melville

"Billy Budd" is a novel begun by Herman Melville in 1886 and still unfinished at the time of Melville's death in 1891. It was published in 1924 and made into a movie in 1962 starring Terence Stamp as the naive seaman.

Answer: Jack Torrance

Jack Torrance is a character from King's 1977 horror novel about the Overlook Hotel. The title is taken from John Lennon's song "Instant Karma" and the line "Well, we all shine on". In 1980 the book was made into a scary movie with Jack Nicholson playing the role of Jack Torrance.

Answer: Lady Chatterley's Lover

"Lady Chatterley's Lover" was written by D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) and published in 1928. The book was extremely controversial in its time as it dealt with human sexuality. All of the incorrect choices were also products of D.H. Lawrence.

Answer: Harry Palmer

"The Ipcress File" was published in 1962 and made into a movie in 1965. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer and was kind of an "anti" James Bond. Two later films starred Caine as Harry Palmer, "Bullet to Beijing" (1995) and "Midnight in St. Petersburg" (1996), but neither was written by Deighton.

Answer: Howard Roark

"The Fountainhead" was Ayn Rand's first best-selling novel in 1943. It clearly showed her philosophy of the importance of the individual over the collective. It was made into a movie in 1949 with Gary Cooper starring as the architect and individualist Howard Roark.

Answer: Sydney Carton

"A Tale of Two Cities" was written by Charles Dickens and takes place in London and Paris around the time of the French Revolution. Charles Darnay is the protagonist who falls in love with Lucie Manette, while Sydney Carton ultimately gives up his life so Darnay will be spared. The novel was published in weekly installments from April 30, 1859 to November 25, 1859.

Answer: Of Mice and Men

"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck was published in 1937 and, like many Steinbeck novels, takes place in Depression Era California. Lenny is huge and innocent, with the mentality of a child... you might want to check it out yourself. All of the incorrect answers were also Steinbeck novels.

Answer: Arthur Dent

Arthur Dent is an Englishman who escapes the destruction of the Earth by the Vogons. The novel was published in 1979 and was followed by Adams' "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" (1980) and "Life, the Universe and Everything" (1982). The incorrect answers are all characters from Isaac Asimov's "Robots and Empire".

Answer: Santiago

"The Old Man and the Sea" was written in Cuba by Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) and published in 1952. The "novella", Hemingway's last major work published while he was still alive, told the story of the battle between an aging fisherman and a giant marlin. Hemingway won both the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Prize in 1954.