Odd One Out: Just Books! Quiz | Mixed Literature

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1. Sherlock Holmes had help (or hindrance) from a number of police inspectors in his various investigations. Which one of the suspects named below was not a police inspector, but was once described by Holmes as "the second most dangerous man in London"?

Answer: Moran

Sebastian Moran was born in 1840, the son of the former minister to Persia. He attended Eton College and Oxford University, then served in the 1st Bangalore Pioneers (Madras). He later became Chief of Staff for Sherlock Holmes's nemesis, Professor James Moriarty. He first appeared in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes story, "The Adventure of the Empty House".

Inspector Lestrade first appeared in "A Study in Scarlet" and many subsequent Sherlock Holmes stories including "The Hound of the Baskervilles", The Bruce-Partington Plans" and "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons".

Inspector Gregson first appeared in the Sherlock Holmes story "A Study in Scarlet"

Inspector Bradstreet first appeared in the Sherlock Holmes short story "The Man with the Twisted Lip".

Question submitted by shipyardbernie

2. The "Index Librorum Prohibitorum" listed books the Catholic Church considered incongruous with the morals of the faithful, and therefore dangerous. Between 1600 and 1956, three of the following authors found themselves on the list, but one never did. Which author is the odd one out?

Answer: Charles Darwin

In the case of Darwin's theories, the Vatican has actually declared that "evolution is not inconsistent with Catholic teaching" in the encyclical "Humani Generis" of the Holy Father Pius XII. Incredibly, in some parts of the world the so-called "creation-evolution debate" still rages on.

As Oscar Wilde said: "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.
Books are well written, or badly written. That is all." The Catholic Church wasn't using Wilde's criteria and banning badly written books, not that I'm suggesting Wilde was suggesting that anybody should. Apart from Milton, Blazac, and Kant, the list of authors of banned books also included names such as Voltaire, Sterne, Dumas (both father and son), Flaubert, Zola, Stendhal, and many, many more.

The history of book-banning is truly fascinating and some cases would be funny if they weren't so sad. China has banned "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", and "Green Eggs and Ham". "The Canterbury Tales", "The Decameron" and "The Grapes of Wrath" have all been banned in the USA.

I was amazed to find that one of French literature's luminaries, Balzac, not only had his entire repertoire on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, but that some of his short stories were banned in Canada and Ireland in the 20th century. The libertine French don't go in for banning books too much, although "Suicide mode d'emploi" (1982) by Claude Guillon did cause a bit of fuss and was banned in the early 1980s.

Question supplied by thula2.

3. Three of the following books have won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, but one hasn't. It was, however, adapted for a 2001 film directed by Ron Howard. Which book is the odd one out?

Answer: A Beautiful Mind

"Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt won in 1997. "Truman" by David McCullough won in 1993. "Profiles in Courage" by John F. Kennedy won in 1957.

"A Beautiful Mind" by Sylvia Nasar was the runner up in 1991.

Question supplied by fifiscot.

4. Agatha Christie has penned many books featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, two of the most famous fictional detectives ever. Three of the following books feature Hercule Poirot but one features Miss Jane Marple. Which Agatha Christie book is the odd one out?

Answer: A Murder is Announced

"A Murder is Announced" was first published in 1950. It was made into a film in 1956, a stage play in 1977, and was included in the TV Series "Miss Marple" starring Joan Hickson. This story was also part of a 2005 TV Series "Agatha Christie's Marple" starring Geraldine McEwan.

Jane Marple has been played by Margaret Rutherford, Angela Lansbury, Helen Hayes, Ita Ever, Joan Hickson, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie, in film and TV series. From 1993 to 2001 the BBC dramatised all of the "Miss Marple" books on radio, starring June Whitfield as Miss Jane Marple.

Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and featured in twelve Agatha Christie novels.

Question supplied by wenray.

5. Three of the following books are set in Paris, "The City of Lights", but one was set in London. Which book is the odd one out?

Answer: Mrs Dalloway

"Murder on the Eiffel Tower" by Claude Izner is a murder mystery which takes place in 19th century Paris. "Paris Peasant", published in 1926, is a surrealist work by Louis Aragon using a working class Paris setting for his exploration of myth. "A Night at the Majestic", a 2006 novel by Richard Davenport-Hines, has Picasso, Stravinsky, Diaghilev, Joyce and Proust join each other for a dinner at the Majestic Hotel in Paris.

"Mrs Dalloway", by Virginia Woolf, uses the life of an upper class woman in post-World War I England to explore relationships both of women both with each other and with men.

Question supplied by pitegny.

6. Three of the following books were published posthumously, while one, which was the author's debut and a huge success following a notorious obscenity trial, was published when its author was in his late thirties and very much alive. Which novel is the odd one out?

Answer: "Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert's flawless novel "Madame Bovary" was first published in serial form in 1856. His tale of an adulterous woman, Emma Bovary, would by later standards seem rather tame but it shocked the moral sensibilities of some and Flaubert was tried for obscenity. He was acquitted, and it was arguably the publicity the trial garnered that turned Flaubert's debut novel into a huge success. That's not what has kept it at the top end of "greatest novels of all-time" lists though; Flaubert's seemingly effortless prose deserves the praise for that feat.

"A Confederacy of Dunces" wasn't published until 1980, eleven years after its author, John Kennedy Toole, had committed suicide aged 31. He had tried to get the book published and it might very well have been the rejection which led to his mental breakdown. His mother kept plugging away and finally got it published by Louisiana State University Press. Only 2,500 copies were printed originally, but, luckily, some of them must have fallen into some influential hands since it caused quite a clamor. In 1981 it even earned Toole a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It's one of the funniest books I have ever read and a must for anybody with a taste for the picaresque.

It was Toole's mum who earned him a place in the pantheon of great literature, but for Franz Kafka it was his pal Max Brod. Kafka had very little published in his life-time and was virtually unknown as a writer. When Kafka knew he was dying of tuberculosis, he gave Brod instructions in no uncertain terms that all his writings must be destroyed upon his demise. Thankfully Brod ignored his dead friend's wishes. Personally, I can't imagine a world without Kafka.

When Mikhail Bulgakov died of hypertensive nephropathy in 1940 aged just 48 he had been working on "The Master and Margarita" twelve years and still wasn't happy with it. He had burnt the first draught. Even when it was eventually published in 1966 as a serialization (1967 as a novel), it was heavily censored. The uncensored version came out in Russia in 1973. Although Bulgakov might not be as well-known abroad as other Russian authors, back home he is right up there in the upper echelon of Russian literature.

Question supplied by thula2.

7. Three of the following books were written by the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens and chronicled her early working life, but one wasn't. Which book is the odd one out?

Answer: If Only They Could Talk

Monica Dickens was a prolific writer who wrote both fiction and non-fiction.
"One Pair of Hands", published in 1939, was an account of her first job, as a Cook General.

"My Turn to Make the Tea", published in 1951, was an account of being a journalist at a local newspaper.

"One Pair of Feet", published in 1952, was an account of her first, and only, year training to be a nurse.

Amongst other things, Monica is credited with the phenomenon of the word "Strine" after misunderstanding a question from a fan at a book signing. She mistakenly inscribed the book "To Emma Chisit" - when the fan had only enquired as to the cost of the book in a broad Aussie accent!

"If Only They Could Talk" by James Herriot (the pen name of James Wight) was the first of a series semi-autobiographical books on the life of a country vet in Yorkshire, and was made into a TV series, "All Creatures Great & Small".

Question supplied by Fifiscot.

8. Three of these female authors are matched up with their female detective/sleuth characters. The fourth one is not. Which is the odd one out?

Answer: Ruth Rendell - Eve Dallas

Ruth Rendell's famous sleuth is Inspector Wexford. Nora Roberts, writing under the pen name of J. D. Robb, has written many books featuring Eve Dallas. Nora Roberts was born Eleanor Marie Robertson in Silver Springs, Maryland, in October 1950. She also writes under the pen-names Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty. Eve Dallas features in at least 29 "In Death" series of novels. Roberts has published over 200 books.

Kinsey Millhone, a private investigator, appears in at least twenty-four Sue Grafton novels. Patricia Cornwell's medical examiner and forensic investigator, Kay Scarpetta, features in over twenty-three books. Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who features in eighteen Kathy Reichs novels.

Question supplied by wenray.

9. The annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction is given to the best original novel written in the English language, as judged by a panel of five experts. Three of these author/book combinations have been awarded the Booker prize, and one has not. Which one has not received the award?

Answer: Andre Alexis for "Fifteen Dogs"

"Fifteen Dogs" by Andre Alexis is a short novel that is a kind of fable, treating with what happens when two of the gods on Mount Olympus make a wager involving earthly affairs. The novel was awarded Canada's most prestigious English-language literary award, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, in 2015. The Giller also has a considerable cash value, $100,000 in 2015. Mr. Alexis is of Trinidadian and Tobagan heritage, and now resides in the province of Ontario.

Question supplied by elmo7.

10. Janet Evanovich's lady bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, has had three lovers in her life. They are all listed below, but there's one intruder. Who is the odd one out?

Answer: Cyrano

Cyrano de Bergerac is a character in the play by Edmond Rostand. Cyrano, with his large nose, loves the beautiful Roxane. The play is quite well-written and fun.

Joe Morelli is Stephanie Plum's on again/off again lover and a Trenton NJ police officer.

Carlos "Ranger" Manoso is a former army ranger, and top bounty hunter who has been Stephanie Plum's mentor and occasionally lover.

Dickie Orr is Stephanie Plum's ex-husband, a lawyer who Stephanie caught having sex with her arch enemy.

Question supplied by dekeaunt

Source: Author thula2

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

Odd One Out: Just Books! Trivia Quiz

Once again, The Misplaced have chosen four things: three which have something in common and one which doesn't. The question will help you identify the intruder! This time it's all about books.

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