Which Book Are They In? (2) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rudyard Kipling's "Kim"

Published in 1901, "Kim" was the last of the four novels written by the Indian-born British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling, although his famous short story collection, "Just So Stories", was first published the following year. He became the first British winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.

Set in India in the late 19th century, the novel follows the title character ('Kim' is the nickname of Kimball O'Hara), an Irish vagabond living in India as he joins the aging Tibetan Lama, Teshoo Lama, on his quest to find the legendary 'River of the Arrow'. On the way, they encounter Mahbub Ali, a horse trader and also a British spy, Colonel Creighton, a British ethnologist and spy, and Lurgan Sahib, a gem trader and, you've guessed it, also a spy.

Answer: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World"

Published in 1912, "The Lost World" was the first adventure novel featuring the character of Professor Challenger by the author who had dominated crime fiction for the previous two decades with his Sherlock Holmes stories.

The story follows the journey by the three scientists and the reporter Edward Malone as they travel to South America to substantiate (or disprove) Professor Challenger's claims to have discovered living dinosaurs.

Answer: P.C. Wren's "Beau Geste"

Published in 1924, "Beau Geste" tells the tale of Michael 'Beau' Geste. Orphans Michael, his twin Digby and their younger sibling John (who narrates the story) have been brought up by their aristocratic aunt, Lady Patricia. When a precious jewel goes missing, suspicion falls on Michael and his band of friends and all three brothers leave Britain to join the French Foreign Legion. It is there that they come up against the sadistic Sergeant Lejaune.

On film, the title character has been played by Ronald Colman (in a 1926 silent film), by Gary Cooper (in 1939), by Guy Stockwell (in 1966 with Telly Savalas and Leslie Nielsen as other Legionnaires) and by Marty Feldman (in a 1977 musical comedy version). Laurel and Hardy, the Goons and the "Carry On" team also all produced their own spoof versions of the story.

Answer: Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth"

Published in 1931, "The Good Earth" was the best-selling novel in the U.S. in both that year and the next. It also earned Pearl S Buck the 1931 Pulitzer Prize for Best Novel. This was the first book in a trilogy (followed by "Sons" in 1932 and "A House Divided" in 1935) that was instrumental in Buck becoming the first American female winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938.

"The Good Earth" brings to life rural village life in pre-WWI China. The 1937 film adaptation stars Paul Muni as Wang and Luise Rainer as O-Lan.

Although she was born in West Virginia (in 1892), Pearl Buck's parents were missionaries and she spent most of the first 40 years of her life in China. She is also known by her Chinese name, Sai Zhenzhu.

Answer: Agatha Christie's "Evil Under the Sun"

Written in 1941, "Evil Under the Sun" was the 18th Agatha Christie novel to feature the ace Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. (He is the star in 31 of her 73 full-length novels.) Peter Ustinov starred as the detective in the 1982 film adaptation of the novel, reprising the role from "Death on the Nile" four years earlier.

The story is set at a quiet Devon hotel where the guests wake up one morning to discover that one of their number, Arlena Marshall, has been murdered. Unfortunately for the murderer, a quiet Belgian gentleman happens to be staying at the hotel too...

Answer: John Steinbeck's "East of Eden"

Set mostly in California in the first two decades of the 20th century, "East of Eden" was published in 1952. Along with "Of Mice and Men" and "Grapes of Wrath", it earned John Steinbeck the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, although the author himself always considered "East of Eden" his greatest work. ""I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this" he is reputed to have said.

The novel contains many elements of Chapter 4 of the biblical "Book of Genesis" and the story of Cain and Abel, even down to the initials of the pairs of brothers.

Elia Kazan's 1955 film version of the novel starred James Dean as Caleb Trask.

Answer: Roald Dahl's "James and the Giant Peach"

WWII fighter pilot and much-beloved British author Roald Dahl wrote his first children's novel, "The Gremlins", in 1943. It would be almost two decades before his second was published, though -- "James and the Giant Peach" in 1961. In the following 30 years, prior to his death in 1990, he wrote some of the best children's books of all time.

The story of "James and the Giant Peach" opens with the sad death of 4-year-old James Trotter's parents, killed by an escaped rhinoceros. The result is that James has to go to live near the White Cliffs of Dover with his cruel aunts, Spiker and Sponge.

Answer: William Blatty's "The Exorcist"

Twelve-year old Regan MacNeil becomes inexplicably ill. Eventually, her mother turns to Jesuit priest Father Lankester Merrin for help as Regan becomes more and more disturbed. Peter Blatty's 1971 novel, "The Exorcist", was inspired by a real life case from 1949.

Directed by William Friedkin with the screenplay adapted by William Blatty himself, the 1973 horror-drama movie based on the novel earned 14-year-old Linda Blair an Oscar nomination for her performance as Regan. Ellen Burstyn played her mother while Max von Sydow took the part of the elderly priest.

Answer: Terry Pratchett's "The Color of Magic"

Published in 1983, "The Color of Magic" was the first volume of Terry Pratchett's remarkable "Discworld" series that concluded with the 41st episode, "The Shepherd's Crown", which was published posthumously in 2015.

The novel's protagonist is Rincewind, a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards who is reputed to have the knack of solving minor problems by turning them into major disasters. Rincewind is voiced by Eric Idle in the 1995 'Discworld' video game.

Answer: Robert James Waller's "The Bridges of Madison County"

Published in 1992, "The Bridges and Madison County" was the first in a trilogy of novels. The first volume concentrates on the four-day affair between the Italian war bride and the photographer. "A Thousand Country Roads" (published in 2002) continues their respective stories while "High Plains Tango" (2005) follows the life of carpenter Carlisle McMillan, Kincaid's illegitimate son.

The blockbuster 1995 film adaptation of the novel stars Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, with the latter also directing.