FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!

Tam Lin in Novels Trivia Quiz

The traditional Scottish ballad of "Tam Lin" has been used quite often as a basis or theme for a novel. The following quiz talks about some of the books, their characters and events.

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

Author
Sallyo

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
127,080

Updated
Feb 26 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
264

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which of the following novels is not a version of the Tam Lin story? Hint

"Tam Lin", by Pamela Dean.

"Thursday", by Catherine Storr

"Silver on the Tree", by Susan Cooper.

"Fire and Hemlock", by Diana Wynne Jones.

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. In "Thursday", by Catherine Storr, who is Thursday's girlfriend? Hint

Janet

Kate

Polly

Bee

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Thomas Lane, the Tam Lin character in Pamela Dean's "Tam Lin" was originally one of Shakespeare's actor colleagues. Hint

Yes.

None of the characters were anything to do with Shakespeare.

No, but some of the other characters were.

No. Only Nick was a colleague of Shakespeare.

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Tom's relationship with Laurel is a complicated one in "Fire and Hemlock" by Diana Wynne Jones. In what way are the two connected? Hint

Tom is Laurel's son.

Tom is Laurel's ex-husband.

Laurel is Tom's lover.

Laurel is Tom's wife.

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. In Elizabeth Marie Pope's "The Perilous Gard", who saves whom from the fairies?
Hint

Kate saves Christopher.

Tamzin saves Kit.

Thomas saves Kate.

Geoffrey saves Ann.

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Patrick Little wrote a Tam Lin novel too. This one is set in Britain. What was it called? Hint

"The Hawthorn Tree"

"Hollow Tree".

"The Rowan Tree".

"The Tree of the Air".

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. In Pamela Dean's "Tam Lin", who was Janet's boyfriend before Thomas? Hint

Rob Benfield

Kit Lane

Nicholas Tooley

Jack

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Tom Lynn has an interesting job when Polly meets him, and this job is important to the plot. What does he do? Hint

He is a poet.

He is a horsebreaker.

He is a musician.

He is a composer.

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Which of the names of the couples in the following four books most closely approximates the original character names in the Tam Lin ballad? Hint

"Fire and Hemlock", by Diana Wynne Jones.

"Tam Lin", by Pamela Dean.

"Thursday", by Catherine Storr.

"The Perilous Gard", by Elizabeth Marie Pope.

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Of the four books listed, three are set in Britain and one in the USA. Three are set in the 20th Century, and one in Tudor England. Which one is set in Tudor England? Hint

"Tam Lin"

"The Perilous Gard"

"Thursday"

"Fire and Hemlock"

(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

Select a User ID:

Choose a Password:

Your Email:

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which of the following novels is not a version of the Tam Lin story?

Answer: "Silver on the Tree", by Susan Cooper.

In "Thursday", the fey teenager Thursday is stolen away by the fairies and his girlfriend has to rescue him in the time-honoured fashion. "Fire and Hemlock" owes something to both Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer, as Thomas Lynn tries to escape from Laurel's thrall, and is rescued by his young girlfriend, Polly. Dean's "Tam Lin" is set in Blackstock College in the 1970s, and Thomas Lane rides with the fairies as their teind (a kind of tax or sacrifice) until rescued by Janet, who loves him. "Silver on the Tree" is part of the "Dark is Rising" sequence, and has nothing to do with Tam Lin.

2. In "Thursday", by Catherine Storr, who is Thursday's girlfriend?

Answer: Bee

Bee is fifteen, and she gets into considerable trouble at home for staying out all night rescuing Thursday. The other girls are all girlfriends of Tam Lin-type characters, but not from this book.

3. Thomas Lane, the Tam Lin character in Pamela Dean's "Tam Lin" was originally one of Shakespeare's actor colleagues.

Answer: No, but some of the other characters were.

Nick, Rob, and Robin all acted with Shakespeare. They were beguiled by the fairies and now appear to be ageless.

4. Tom's relationship with Laurel is a complicated one in "Fire and Hemlock" by Diana Wynne Jones. In what way are the two connected?

Answer: Tom is Laurel's ex-husband.

Tom divorced Laurel before the book began, but he takes some time more to escape her influence. Laurel has a liking for the name Thomas, but will take other men if necessary.

5. In Elizabeth Marie Pope's "The Perilous Gard", who saves whom from the fairies?

Answer: Kate saves Christopher.

Christopher Herron is the younger brother of Geoffrey, who has inherited an ancient manor from his wife, Ann Warden. Geoffrey's daughter Cecily was stolen by the fairies, and Christopher gave himself instead. Kate rescues him, eventually.

6. Patrick Little wrote a Tam Lin novel too. This one is set in Britain. What was it called?

Answer: "The Hawthorn Tree"

"The Hawthorn Tree" is the one. Hawthorn is one of the trees associated with magic and fairies. Rowan is another, which is also supposed to repel magic. Hollow tree appears in a Tasmanian novel called "They Found a Cave", and there is no book called "The Tree of the Air". However, there is a magical novel called "The Folk of the Air".

7. In Pamela Dean's "Tam Lin", who was Janet's boyfriend before Thomas?

Answer: Nicholas Tooley

Nicholas is the boy for whom Janet first falls. Thomas, on the other hand, puts her off by losing his temper in the library. Thomas needs a girlfriend to save him from the fairies, but he doesn't like the idea of "using" a girl. This is one thing that makes him seem bad tempered. Kit Lane is a relative of Thomas, while Rob and Jack are friends.

8. Tom Lynn has an interesting job when Polly meets him, and this job is important to the plot. What does he do?

Answer: He is a musician.

Tom plays with an orchestra, but later in the story he leaves to form a quartet with three friends. The resulting Dumas Quartet is on tour during part of the story, and Tom's music plays a large part in the climactic scene.

9. Which of the names of the couples in the following four books most closely approximates the original character names in the Tam Lin ballad?

Answer: "Tam Lin", by Pamela Dean.

This is a curly one, because two books almost qualify.

The closest couples are Thomas Lynn and Polly Whittacker from "Fire and Hemlock" and Thomas Lane and Janet Carter from "Tam Lin". (The other sets are called Christopher and Kate and Thursday and Bee.) Tom Lynn's name is actually closer to the original than Thomas Lane's, but Janet shares her name with the original heroine and Polly doesn't.

10. Of the four books listed, three are set in Britain and one in the USA. Three are set in the 20th Century, and one in Tudor England. Which one is set in Tudor England?

Answer: "The Perilous Gard"

"The Perilous Gard" is set in Tudor England. Kate Sutton, the heroine, has been sent away from Princess Elizabeth's household because of her sister's indiscretion in writing a letter to Queen Mary. She meets the self-exiled Christopher Herron and they become friends. The Tudor setting adds depth to the book, and the theme of exile is fascinating.

Source: Author Sallyo

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