Which Book Are They In? Online Quiz | Literary Characters

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which classic Russian novel features the characters Tonya Gromeko, Larissa 'Lara' Feodorovna Guishar, Pavel 'Pasha' Antipov and Viktor Komarovsky?

Answer: Doctor Zhivago

Boris Pasternak's 'Doctor Zhivago' was published in Italy in 1957. David Lean's film version was released in 1965. Tonya Gromeko (Geraldine Chaplin in the film) was Yuri Zhivago's wife. Larissa Feodorovna Guishar, also known as Lara (played by Julie Christie) was Yuri's great love. Pasha was played by Tom Courtenay, a performance for which he earned an Oscar nomination. Rod Steiger played Viktor in the film.

2. Which classic 19th-Century American novel features the characters Captain Bloomer, Tashtego, Starbuck, Stubb and Flask?

Answer: Moby Dick

Herman Melville's classic novel 'Moby Dick' was published in 1851. The 1956 film version starred Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab. Captain Bloomer is the skipper of the 'Samuel Enderby', another ship that the Pequod meets at sea. James Robertson Justice played him in the 1956 film. Tashtego is one of the harpooners aboard the Pequod.

The other three are crew on the Pequod -- Starbuck is the young chief mate, Stubb is the second mate, and Flask the third mate.

3. John and Susan Walker, Nancy and Peggy Blackett and James Turner are major characters in which English children's novel?

Answer: Swallows and Amazons

Published in 1930, 'Swallows and Amazons' was the first in a series of novels for children written by Arthur Ransome. There was a 1962 BBC TV adaptation of the novel starring Susan George and featuring John Paul as James Turner aka 'Captain Flint'.

4. Count Ladislaus de Alm�sy, Hana, Kip, David Caravaggio, Katharine and Geoffrey Clifton are the main characters in which Booker Prize-winning novel?

Answer: The English Patient

Published in 1992, 'The English Patient' was written by Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. It won the 1992 Book Prize for Fiction and was adapted for an award-winning Anthony Minghella film in 1996. The film starred Ralph Fiennes (as Alm�sy), Juliette Binoche (Hana), Willem Dafoe (David) and Naveen Andrews (Kap), with Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth as Mr and Mrs Andrews.

5. Valentine Michael Smith is the protagonist in which classic science fiction novel?

Answer: Stranger in a Strange Land

All four options are winners of the Hugo Award, given annually for the best science fiction novel of the year. Robert A. Heinlein's classic, 'Stranger in a Strange Land', published in 1961, won the 1962 award. Valentine Michael Smith is born to crew members of the first manned mission to Mars and raised by Martians on the red planet. The story tells the story of his arrival on Earth.

6. Santiago and Manolin are the main characters in which novel that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?

Answer: The Old Man and the Sea

All four options are novels that won the Puliter Prize for Fiction. Written by Ernest Hemingway in Cuba in 1951, 'The Old Man and the Sea' won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize and was also cited as a factor in the author's Nobel Prize a year later. The novel tells the story of Santiago, who has gone 84 days without catching a fish, and his apprentice, Manolin.

7. Animals named Chil, Akela, Kaa, Kotick and Chuchundra appear in which classic work?

Answer: The Jungle Book

Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book' first appeared as a collection of magazine stories in 1893-94. There are many very well-known characters such as Mowgli the boy, Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther and Shere Khan the tiger. Other less-renowned characters include Chil the kite, Akela (an Indian wolf), Kaa the python, Kotich (a white seal), Chuchundra (a muskrat), Hathi (an Indian elephant), Ikki (a porcupine), Mang (a bat), Nag the cobra, and Tabaqui (an Indian jackal).

8. Margaret (Maggie the 'Cat'), Brick, Big Mama, Big Daddy, Mae and Doctor Baugh are major characters in which Pulitzer Prize-winning play?

Answer: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', a play by Tennesee Williams set in the Mississippi delta, won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered on Broadway in March 1955 and was adapted for a film directed by Richard Brooks in 1958.
Margaret was played by Barbara Bel Geddes in the original Broadway production and by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1958 film. Ben Gazzara, and later Jack Lord, played Brick on stage, whilst Paul Newman did so on film. Burl Ives (Big Daddy Politt) and Madeleine Shewood (Mae) appeared in both the Broadway and the film versions.

9. Which bestselling novel of the 1960s features Tom Hagen and siblings nicknamed Fredo, Mikey and Connie?

Answer: The Godfather

Mario Puzo's 'The Godfather' was published in 1969. The Francis Ford Coppola film version, widely regarded as one of the best films of all time, was released in 1972. The siblings are brothers Frederico (Fredo), Michael (Mikey) and sister Constanzia (Connie) Corleone.

The third brother is Santino aka Sonny. Tom Hagen is their adopted brother. The film version starred Al Pacino as Michael, James Caan as Sonny, John Cazale as Fredo, Talia Shire as Connie, and Robert Duvall as Tom.

10. In which 21st-Century bestseller are Henrik, Martin and Isabella Vanger, and Erika Berger major characters?

Answer: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The first volume of the 'Millennium' trilogy, 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' was published in 2005, shortly after the sudden death of author Steig Larsson. A bestseller in both Europe and the USA, film adaptations were released in 2009 (in Swedish) and in 2011 (in English).

Source: Author EnglishJedi

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

Which Book Are They In? Trivia Quiz

Can you identify the classic works of literature in which the named characters feature?

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