Collected Literary Oddities Vol. 1 Quiz

Answer: Sophie Dahl

Sophie Dahl's grandfathers were Stanley Holloway and Roald Dahl. She is a well known British fashion model as well as an authoress. She has received some notoriety for posing naked for posters advertising perfumery. At the time the posters attracted the second highest level of complaints from the public of the USA.

Answer: William Dampier

William Dampier (1651-1715) was Master of the vessel who rescued Alexander Selkirk. The church was East Coker.

Dampier was the first person to circumnavigate the world twice, and went on to complete a third circumnavigation. His career was a mixture of scientific discovery, exploration and buccaneering.

Answer: The authors Pamela Hansford Johnson and C.P. Snow were married

The extensive output of Snow has tended to overshadow that of his less famous wife. His ideas were expressed in the series of novels depicting Eliot. His views were controversial and there are still echoes of the debate to which he contributed on the apparent gulf between "literary intellectuals" and "scientists,".
Snow was knighted in 1957 and created a baron (life peer) in 1964.

Answer: Isaiah and Ezekiel

Isaiah and Ezekiel, in 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'.

Answer: In Memoriam A.H.H.

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), was an English poet often regarded as a leading example of the Victorian age in poetry. Tennyson succeeded Wordsworth as Poet Laureate in 1850.

His output was impressively vast but not always to the critics' taste. His "In Memoriam", an elegy for his lost school friend Hallam took seventeen years to complete. Some other examples of his work at his best include: "The Lady of Shalott", "The Lotus-eaters" "Morte d'Arthur" and "Ulysses" which appeared in 1842 in the two-volume anthology called "Poems".

Answer: Peter Carey and Ned Kelly

Peter Carey's 'True History of the Kelly Gang' was one of his many well received books. He was born in Bacchus Marsh in Victoria (Australia) in 1943, and was later educated at Monash University, where he studied science.
His bibliography is impressive and he has been a consistent winner of literary prizes in the UK and Australia.
Some of his credits include:
'Bliss', 'Illywhacker', 'Oscar and Lucinda', 'The Tax Inspector'
If you read nothing else of his but one book then do try 'Jack Maggs'.

Answer: Langdale Pike

Langdale Pike was described by Holmes as the best gossip-monger in London. He was featured in 'The Adventure of the Three Gables'. The others are all bona fide geographical features to be found in the Lake District or nearby.

Answer: T.E. Lawrence

T.E. Lawrence; it was a Rolls Royce armoured car.
Lawrence became famous after the First World War because of the remarkable role he had played while serving as a British liaison officer during the Arab Revolt of 1916-18.

There was a period after his initial fame when his romantic exploits were treated rather cynically but the recent release of secret papers by the British Government show his role was even more remarkable than had been thought.

Answer: Coleridge

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834) was an English poet, critic, and philosopher. He was very friendly with William Wordsworth and together they helped found the 'Romantic Movement' in England. Coleridge was one of the Lake Poets. Among my favourites of his works are 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and 'Kubla Khan'.

Answer: Truman Capote

Truman Capote(1924-1984) was originally named Truman Streckfus Persons. He was born in New Orleans the son of a salesman and a 16-year-old beauty queen, Lillie Mae Faulk. He became the boyhood friend of Harper Lee and she based the character 'Dill' on her memories of Capote.