They Wrote 'em and We Read 'em: Part II Quiz

Answer: Carlo Collodi

Carlo Lorenzini (1826-1890), better known as Carlo Collodi was an Italian children's writer. "The Adventures of Pinocchio" was originally in a serial form in 1881-82 but was then published as a book in 1883. Sadly, Collodi died before his popularity spread when the book was translated into English in 1892. Grazia Deledda (1871-1936) was the first Italian woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926. Corin Tellado (1927-2009) was a prolific Spanish writer of romantic novels and she had over 4,000 books published and many were best-sellers in Spanish-speaking countries, selling over 400 million books. Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944) was a French aristocrat, poet, writer and aviator.

He is best remembered for his novel "The Little Prince".

He joined the Free French Air Force in North Africa during WWII and his plane disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea in July 1944.

Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a 25 year old ship's surgeon in 1884 when he wrote about the mystery of the Mary Celeste, the ship that was discovered in December 1872 off the Azores Islands with nobody on board and the lifeboat missing. No one from the ship has been seen or heard of since. Doyle wrote the article based on his own theories as to what happened and this article popularized the disappearance of the ship.

In 1887 he introduced us to Sherlock Holmes for the first time in "A Study in Scarlet". Georges Simonen (1903 - 1989) introduced us to the French police inspector Jules Maigret. Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) was the creator of Sam Spade. Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was the creator of the Belgian policeman Hercule Poirot.

Answer: Barbara Cartland

Barbara Cartland (1901-2000) was an English author who was born Mary Barbara Hamilton and known for her numerous romantic novels. In 1976 she had 23 novels published ("Guinness Book of Records") and she also wrote under the name of Barbara McCorquodale, which was her married name. Enid Blyton (1897-1968) was a prolific writer of children's books mainly "Noddy", "The Famous Five" and "The Secret Seven". Catharine Cookson (1906-1998) was an English novelist who took up writing as a form of therapy to tackle her depression.

Her novels have sold over 100 million copies. The settings for her novels were set mainly in the North east of England. Nora Roberts (b. 1950) is an American best selling author with over 200 romantic novels published.

Answer: Winston Churchill (UK)

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was the Prime Minister of the UK and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his numerous published works and particularly his six-volume set, "The Second World War". Hjalmar Branting (1860-1925) was the Prime Minister of Sweden when he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1921.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was President of the USA when he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 and Eisaku Sato (1901-1975) was Prime Minister of Japan when he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974.

Answer: Edgar Wallace

Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) was an English writer and one of the most prolific thriller writers of the early 20th century. He was a war correspondent for Reuters and the "Daily Mail" during the Second Boer War (1899-1902). He drew on his experiences of Africa when writing "The Four Just Men" (1905).

He was a script writer at RKO studios where he created "King Kong". W. H. L. Wallace (1821-1862) was a Union general during the American Civil War. Henry A. Wallace (1888-1965) was the 33rd Vice President of the USA. Irving Wallace (1916-1990) was an American best-selling author and screenwriter.

His most well known novels are "The Chapman Report", "The Prize" and "The Man".

Answer: John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was an American who not only won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962 but authored such classics as "Cannery Row", "East of Eden", "Of Mice and Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath", all of which were adapted into movies. "Tortilla Flat" (1935) was a comic novel that portrays the adventurers of a group of homeless men after WWI.

The movie in 1942 starred Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield. L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) wrote "The Wonderful Wizard of OZ" in 1900 which was adapted into a musical in 1902 and a well-known film adaption in 1939. Anita Loos (1889-1981) wrote "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" in 1925 which was adapted into a film version in 1953 starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1959) was the creator of Tarzan, first published in 1912 as "Tarzan of the Apes".

Answer: The Famous Five

Enid Blyton (1897-1968) was an English children's writer and her books have been among the best-sellers since the 1930s. "The Famous Five" follows the adventures of a group of children on school holidays named Julian, Dick, Ann, Georgina and her faithful dog Timmy.

The first time we were introduced them was in "Five on a Treasure Island" published in 1942. Enid Blyton wrote 21 "Famous Five" books from 1942-1963. There were 15 books of "The Secret Seven" from 1949-1963. There were 24 "Noddy" books published from 1949-1963 and "The Enchanted Wood" was a novel written in 1939.

Answer: The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an American writer of short stories and novels. "The Great Gatsby" was written in 1925 and adapted into a silent movie in 1926, again in 1949 starring Alan Ladd and Shelley winters and also in 1974 starring Sam Waterston, Mia Farrow and Robert Redford. "Tender is the Night" was also published in his lifetime, but "The Love of the Last Tycoon" was published posthumously.

Answer: Boris Pasternak

All of the above were awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature with Bunin (1870-1953) being the first in 1933, Sholokhov (1905-1984) in 1965 and Solzhenitsyn ((1918-2008) in 1970. However, it was Pasternak (1890-1960) who was forced by the USSR not to accepted the award due to his novel "Doctor Zhivago".

The novel was not published in the USSR due to its independent-minded stance on the socialist state. The state was outraged by the award and he was forced to decline the prize.

Answer: Zane Grey

Zane Grey (1872-1939) was an American author best known for adventure novels and stories about the American frontier. His novels and short stories have been adapted into over 100 films, plus television episodes and series. Many famous actors got their starts in the movie industry based on his books including Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, William Powell, Wallace Beery, Buster Crabbe and even Shirley Temple. Doc Holliday (1851-1887) earned a degree in Dentistry from Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery but is better known as a gambler, gunfighter and a friend of Wyatt Earp. Louis L'Amour (1908-1988) is an American author whose books were mainly Western novels, although he did write occasionally on historical and science fiction. Jack Schaefer (1907-1991), his most famous work being "Shane" (1945) and adapted into a movie in 1953 of the same name starring Alan Ladd.