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Shute: the Story Teller Trivia Quiz

Nevil Shute published over twenty novels between 1923 and 1960. I'll give you a brief summary of the plot and all you need to do is match the correct title to it. Note - the UK titles are used and some spoilers.

A matching quiz by rossian. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
rossian

Time
4 mins

Type
Match Quiz

Quiz #
387,310

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
930

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

Last 3 plays: sabbaticalfire (10/10), Guest 107 (10/10), leith90 (10/10).

(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.

Questions		Choices
1. Set in Australia, a group of people await certain death.		Beyond the Black Stump
2. An elderly man saves a group of children from occupied France.		Pied Piper
3. A pilot is taken back to Viking times in a drug induced sleep.		On the Beach
4. Based on Shute's own life story, with the subtitle 'The Autobiography of an Engineer'.		Slide Rule
5. An American living in a remote area of Australia falls in love with a local girl who fails to settle in Oregon when he takes her there.		The Rainbow and the Rose
6. The bombing of Southampton leads to a cholera outbreak and escape to France for some of the victims.		An Old Captivity
7. A pilot dreams about the three major loves of another pilot, who taught him to fly, and is now seriously injured.		What Happened to the Corbetts
8. A rich man uses his wealth to revive shipbuilding in a derelict town, although his methods mean he ends in gaol.		A Town Like Alice
9. Set in World War II in England and later in Australia, a man unravels the reasons behind a suicide.		Ruined City
10. Set in Malaya and Australia, a young woman uses her legacy to create a new community in Queensland.		Requiem for a Wren

Select each answer

1. Set in Australia, a group of people await certain death.

2. An elderly man saves a group of children from occupied France.

3. A pilot is taken back to Viking times in a drug induced sleep.

4. Based on Shute's own life story, with the subtitle 'The Autobiography of an Engineer'.

5. An American living in a remote area of Australia falls in love with a local girl who fails to settle in Oregon when he takes her there.

6. The bombing of Southampton leads to a cholera outbreak and escape to France for some of the victims.

7. A pilot dreams about the three major loves of another pilot, who taught him to fly, and is now seriously injured.

8. A rich man uses his wealth to revive shipbuilding in a derelict town, although his methods mean he ends in gaol.

9. Set in World War II in England and later in Australia, a man unravels the reasons behind a suicide.

10. Set in Malaya and Australia, a young woman uses her legacy to create a new community in Queensland.

Most Recent Scores

Dec 01 2024 : sabbaticalfire: 10/10
Nov 23 2024 : Guest 107: 10/10
Nov 04 2024 : leith90: 10/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Set in Australia, a group of people await certain death.

Answer: On the Beach

The story is set in Melbourne, and covers the aftermath of a nuclear war which has wiped out everyone in the northern hemisphere of the world. Although Australia was not hit by bombs, radiation is coming closer carried by winds and the inhabitants know they are doomed.

The book was published in 1957. Shute had moved to Australia to live in 1950.

2. An elderly man saves a group of children from occupied France.

Answer: Pied Piper

Having been on a fishing holiday in France, the 'pied piper' of the story finds himself with a growing group of youngsters who he has to keep safe from the Nazi invaders. The group is discovered, but a twist of fate adds another child to his care, and they all reach England safely with the help of an unexpected ally.

The book was published in 1942, halfway through World War II.

3. A pilot is taken back to Viking times in a drug induced sleep.

Answer: An Old Captivity

The pilot, Donald Ross, has been employed to take a professor and his daughter to carry out an aerial survey of Viking settlements on Greenland. The workload means that Ross has to take sleeping tablets to cope and ends up in a coma, where he has a realistic 'dream' of his previous life as a slave of the Vikings.

'An Old Captivity' was published in 1940.

4. Based on Shute's own life story, with the subtitle 'The Autobiography of an Engineer'.

Answer: Slide Rule

Published in 1954, 'Slide Rule' details Shute's childhood and his many years of working in the aircraft industry. It finishes in 1938 and Shute did not write the proposed second volume.

Shute's experiences form a major part of many of his novels, particularly with his interest in, and knowledge of, aircraft.

5. An American living in a remote area of Australia falls in love with a local girl who fails to settle in Oregon when he takes her there.

Answer: Beyond the Black Stump

The Australian expression 'to be beyond the black stump', meaning to be in the middle of nowhere, gave Shute his title for this work. Stanton Laird is working as a geologist in Australia when he meets the Regan family and proposes marriage to Mollie Regan. Having visited the USA, Mollie realises that they are unsuited and returns home.

This was one of Shute's later novels, published in 1956.

6. The bombing of Southampton leads to a cholera outbreak and escape to France for some of the victims.

Answer: What Happened to the Corbetts

The novel was published in 1939 before the outbreak of World War II and prior to any bombing of England, so Shute was envisaging a situation which hadn't yet happened. The family in the story, the Corbetts, are fortunate enough to have a boat although they struggle to find any port willing to allow them to dock, due to the disease risk. Peter Corbett's wife and children take a passage to Canada from France, while he returns to serve in the navy.

The US title for this book was 'Ordeal'.

7. A pilot dreams about the three major loves of another pilot, who taught him to fly, and is now seriously injured.

Answer: The Rainbow and the Rose

Johnnie Pascoe has crashed his plane in Tasmania and suffered serious injuries. His protege, Ronnie Clarke, tries to fly a doctor to him but is prevented by bad weather, forcing him to spend the night in Pascoe's home. While sleeping, he relives parts of Pascoe's life, in particular his three main romantic relationships.

The novel was published in 1958.

8. A rich man uses his wealth to revive shipbuilding in a derelict town, although his methods mean he ends in gaol.

Answer: Ruined City

Henry Warren finds himself in a northern city where, due to various circumstances, he is mistaken for one of the many unemployed and destitute men of the area. The kindness he has received encourages him to secretly buy and re-open the shipbuilding works, but he has to resort to bribery to obtain the first orders leading to a prison sentence.

The novel was published in 1938 and was given the title of 'Kindling' in the USA.

9. Set in World War II in England and later in Australia, a man unravels the reasons behind a suicide.

Answer: Requiem for a Wren

The main part of the story is told in flashback as an Australian man named Alan Duncan tries to find out why his parents' housekeeper has killed herself. He discovers that she has been living under an assumed name and was the girlfriend of his late brother. Duncan's return has precipitated her suicide as she knew he would recognise her and he learns about the tragic events which led to her decision.

Another of Shute's novels to have a different title in the USA, where it was called 'The Breaking Wave', the novel was published in 1955.

10. Set in Malaya and Australia, a young woman uses her legacy to create a new community in Queensland.

Answer: A Town Like Alice

The first part of the story is set during World War II when the heroine, Jean Paget, is a captive of the Japanese and comes across the Australian Joe Harman. Post war, she believes he has died, although this turns out to be untrue, while he thinks she is married. Eventually, the couple meet again and Jean uses her inheritance to change the isolated town where they live into somewhere resembling Alice Springs, giving the book its title.

The book was published in 1950, soon after Shute had made his home in Australia.

Source: Author rossian

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