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Secrets of Novel Titles Trivia Quiz

Authors search high and low to find a great title -- this is a quiz to see if you recognize the source!

A multiple-choice quiz by WiseTao. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
WiseTao

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
170,674

Updated
Jun 12 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
786

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In the Bible, Aaron's rod was an important object. Which of these novelists used "Aaron's Rod" for the title of a book? Hint

D.H. Lawrence

Vita Sackville-West

C.S. Forester

Erich Maria Remarque

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Question 2 of 10

2. "Anna of the Five Towns" is a regional novel by Arnold Bennett. Where are the five towns located? Hint

Ireland

England

Scotland

North Dakota

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Question 3 of 10

3. In Dickens's "Bleak House," who actually owned Bleak House? Hint

Richard Carstone

John Jarndyce

Ada Clare

Betsey Trotwood

4. Tom Wolfe's novel "Bonfire of the Vanities" refers to an historical situation in the 1490's when the citizens of this city made a huge bonfire, destroying their worldly goods. What was the city? Hint

Florence

Madrid

Paris

Rome

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Question 5 of 10

5. "Bonjour Tristesse" was the 1954 novel of Francoise Sagan. What does the title mean? Hint

Good Day My Mistress

Good Day Sunshine

Hello Sorrow

Hello Love

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Question 6 of 10

6. The title Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" comes from a play by Shakespeare. Which one? Hint

Midsummer Night's Dream

All's Well That Ends Well

As You Like It

The Tempest

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Question 7 of 10

7. W. Somerset Maugham's "Cakes and Ale" also owes its title to Shakespeare. Name the character who says, "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" Hint

Malvolio

The Fool in King Lear

Falstaff

Sir Toby Belch

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Question 8 of 10

8. Jonathan Swift wrote, "The dunces are all in confederacy against him." ("Thoughts on Various Subjects"). Which writer took a form of this saying as a title for his novel? Hint

John Kennedy Toole

Iain M. Banks

Mark Twain

Thomas Hardy

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Question 9 of 10

9. "Cranford" is a novel of provincial life by Mrs. Gaskell. Which town was Cranford modeled on? Hint

Oxford

Hollingford

Knutsford

Cambridge

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Question 10 of 10

10. Arthur Koestler's novel "Darkness at Noon" took its title from which poem? Hint

Shelley's "Prometheus Unbound"

Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

Homer's "Iliad"

Milton's "Samson Agonistes"

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In the Bible, Aaron's rod was an important object. Which of these novelists used "Aaron's Rod" for the title of a book?

Answer: D.H. Lawrence

The 1922 novel concerns Aaron Sisson who abandons his family job to become a wandering flute player. Some people really know how to live.

2. "Anna of the Five Towns" is a regional novel by Arnold Bennett. Where are the five towns located?

Answer: England

The "five towns" themselves are Burslem, Turnhill, Hanbridge, Knype, and Longshaw.

3. In Dickens's "Bleak House," who actually owned Bleak House?

Answer: John Jarndyce

Carstone and Clare lived there also, during the endless lawsuit of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce.

Answer: Florence

The immolation was urged by the reformer Girolamo Savonarola (1452-98).

5. "Bonjour Tristesse" was the 1954 novel of Francoise Sagan. What does the title mean?

Answer: Hello Sorrow

Sagan's real name was Francoise Quoirez. The book was written in ten weeks after an argument with her mother. The actual title comes from a poem by Paul Eluard.

6. The title Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" comes from a play by Shakespeare. Which one?

Answer: The Tempest

Miranda utters the immortal words.

7. W. Somerset Maugham's "Cakes and Ale" also owes its title to Shakespeare. Name the character who says, "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?"

Answer: Sir Toby Belch

The play is "Twelfth Night"; the 1930 novel satirizes the British literary establishment.

8. Jonathan Swift wrote, "The dunces are all in confederacy against him." ("Thoughts on Various Subjects"). Which writer took a form of this saying as a title for his novel?

Answer: John Kennedy Toole

The satirical 1980 novel, "A Confederacy of Dunces" won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, ten years after the author committed suicide.

9. "Cranford" is a novel of provincial life by Mrs. Gaskell. Which town was Cranford modeled on?

Answer: Knutsford

Knutsford is in Cheshire, where the author was raised by her aunt.

10. Arthur Koestler's novel "Darkness at Noon" took its title from which poem?

Answer: Milton's "Samson Agonistes"

The novel was originally written in German and translated by Daphne Hardy. It is based on Koestler's experience as a member of the Communist Party.

Source: Author WiseTao

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
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