Amazing Authors and Their Origins Quiz

Answer: UK

Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales, in 1949 and began writing in his spare time while working in publishing. His first success came in 1978 with 'The Eye of the Needle' and his books, many of them 'thrillers', have appeared regularly ever since.

(Question by Rockette: rossian)

Answer: Italy

Andrea Camilleri was born in Porto Empedocle, Sicily, in 1925. He started his career as a director and screenwriter, but turned to authoring from the late 1970s. His most popular work has included the 'Inspector Montalbano' series of crime novels. In 2012, he won the Crime Writers' Association International Dagger for 'The Potter's Field'.

(Question by Rockette: Plodd)

Answer: Ireland

Cecelia Ahern is perhaps best known for her debut novel 'PS I Love You', which was published in 2004 when she was just 23 years of age. It was swiftly adapted into a 2007 film of the same name starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. Ahern is the daughter of Bertie Ahern, the former Irish Taoiseach and in addition to her writing career was once a member of a pop group who competed to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest.

(Question by Rockette: Fifiona81)

Answer: Australia

Geraldine Brooks began writing as a journalist. Her second book, 'March', was inspired by 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott. The story is told from the view of the father who has left home to fight in the American Civil War. The book won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006.

(Question by Rockette: mlcmlc)

Answer: Sweden

Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) was a Swedish writer who wrote the 'Millennium
series, including the 2005 published, 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. His death of a heart attack in 2004 shocked the literary world but his legacy lives on through his work.

(Question by Rockette: Plodd)

Answer: New Zealand

Dame Ngaio Marsh is best known for her crime novels, particularly those featuring the detective Roderick Alleyn. She was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1895 and died in the same city eighty-six years later. Among her novels are 'Enter a Murderer', published in 1935, and 'Photo Finish' from 1980. Several of the Alleyn stories have been adapted for television.

(Question by Rockette: rossian)

Answer: Canada

Born in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, in 1939, Atwood is probably best known for her novels 'The Handmaid's Tale', 'The Robber Bride' and 'The Blind Assassin', which were all nominated for various literary awards. However, she is also a noted poet, children's writer and non-fiction author.

(Question by Rockette: Fifiona81)

Answer: Denmark

Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke was born in 1885, just outside of Copenhagen. She married her husband in 1914 and they established the Karen Coffee Company north of Nairobi. It was during her time in Kenya that she wrote her best-selling memoirs which was later turned into a blockbuster film starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep.

(Question by Rockette: Plodd)

Answer: South Africa

The South African writer and novelist Nadine Gordimer was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize for Literature and was the co-winner of the 1974 Booker Prize for her novel 'The Conservationist'. Her works particularly focused on South African political issues and as a result several of her novels were banned during the Apartheid period; she was also politically active and a close supporter of Nelson Mandela. She died in Johannesburg in 2014 at the age of 90.

(Question by Rockette: rossian)

Answer: USA

Crichton was born in 1942, in Chicago, and published his first book, called 'Odds On', in 1966 using the pseudonym of John Lange. Major success arrived with 'The Andromeda Strain' in 1969 and Crichton's other novels include 'Jurassic Park' (1990) and 'Prey' (2002).

(Question by Rockette: rossian)