Titles and Subtitles Trivia Quiz

Answer: Frankenstein

Many people erroneously think Frankenstein refers to the Monster, but the Monster is never named. Dr Victor Frankenstein, who creates the Monster, is the "modern Prometheus". The references to Prometheus came from Greek mythology. Prometheus created humans out of water and clay.

He angered Zeus by stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mortals. Prometheus was one of the Titans and the brother of Atlas.

Answer: Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte used the pseudonym Currer Bell when publishing her first two novels, "Jane Eyre" and "Shirley". "Jane Eyre" was written in the first person narrative; that is, Jane herself tells the story. The novel bore the subtitle "An Autobiography" when it was first published but the subtitle was dropped in later editions.

The novel was somewhat autobiographical because the character of Jane was based upon Charlotte herself and the plot was loosely based on real events.

Answer: "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe

"Uncle Tom's Cabin: Life Among the Lowly" was published in 1852. This anti-slavery novel broke all sales records at that time by selling half-a-million copies by 1857. After its publication, Harriet Beecher Stowe travelled America and Europe speaking out against slavery.

When she met President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, he allegedly greeted her by saying, "So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!" (meaning the Civil War).

Answer: Lady Windermere's Fan

There is some literary debate concerning which character is the "good woman" referred to in the subtitle. Some say it is Lady Windermere and others that it is Mrs Erlynne. Of more importance, however, is Wilde's underlying message - that Victorian society was hypocritical in demanding that women must be good while men may not. Men could keep mistresses or have affairs with little damage to their reputation, however, if a woman did likewise, she was a social outcast.

In Act 1, for example, the Duchess of Berwick says "...before the honeymoon was over, I caught him winking at my maid, a most pretty, respectable girl. I dismissed her at once without a character".

Answer: "Madam Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert's subtitle was "Moeurs de Province" (English translation: Manners of the Provinces or Provincial Customs) but it is published in English as "Provincial Lives". Flaubert's theme of extramarital sex was considered to be portrayed too graphically. Flaubert and his publisher were subsequently acquitted of the immorality charge but, needless to say, the banning of the book and the publicity generated by the legal action caused sales to boom (doesn't it always?).

The novel continues to make "banned books" lists even today.

Incidentally, "Fanny Hill" also had a subtitle; it was "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure".

Answer: Middlemarch

"Middlemarch" was written by Mary Ann Evans, using the pen-name George Eliot. As the name implies, the novel is about the lives of a number of people who live in the provincial town of Middlemarch. It is a complex novel encompassing many characters and a number of themes.

The other three novels were also written by women who used male pen-names. "Indiana" was written by Amandine Dupin under the name George Sand. The Bronte sisters Anne, Charlotte and Emily used the pseudonyms Acton, Currer and Ellis Bell on occasion. "Villette" was written by Charlotte Bronte and "Agnes Grey" was written by Anne Bronte.

Answer: Edward VIII

The four answers given above are the last four kings of England, prior to the reign of Elizabeth II. The memoirs were those of Edward VIII, the king who abdicated for love. Edward ascended the throne in January 1936 and abdicated in December of the same year, before being crowned.

He gave up the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. The year after he abdicated, the title "Duke of Windsor" was created for him. When he died in 1972, the title became extinct, so Edward is/was the only Duke of Windsor.

He wrote his memoirs in 1951.

Answer: "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien

"The Hobbit: There and Back Again" is the story of the adventures of a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who lives at The Hill. At the conclusion of the novel, Bilbo is sitting in his study, "writing his memoirs - he thought of calling them "There and Back Again, A Hobbit's Holiday". This novel is the prelude to Tolkien's famous trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings".

Answer: "The Red and the Black" by Stendahl

Stendahl was the pen-name of Marie-Henri Beyle. Stendahl's novel, "Le Rouge et Le Noir", is known in English as "The Red and the Black" and also "The Scarlet and the Black". It has two subtitles; "A Chronicle of 1830" and "A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century".

The choice of colours has been interpreted in a number of ways. The general consensus is that red stands for the army (the colour of the uniform) and that black stands for the priesthood (the colour of the priests' robes). Another interpretation is that red represents love while black represents death and mourning. Yet another is that the colours were chosen because they are the colours of a roulette wheel, which symbolizes the changing fortunes of life.

Answer: Twelfth Night

During the Elizabethan period, it was common for plays to have subtitles which hinted at the play's underlying theme. Some literary critics believe that Shakespeare gave his play "Twelfth Night" the subtitle "What You Will" as a joke because it gives no hint as to the theme; in other words, "What You Will" was Shakespeare's way of intimating that the theme can be anything the audience wanted it to be.