Female Firsts in Literature Quiz | People

Female Firsts in Literature Trivia Quiz

Women have achieved some wonderful things in the world of literature. Can you match these ten accomplishments to the correct female author?

A matching quiz by helen295. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first woman to hold the position of Britain's Poet Laureate.

Answer: Carol Ann Duffy

Born in Glasgow in 1955, Carol Ann Duffy was appointed Poet Laureate in 2009. She was not only the first woman but also the first Scottish poet to hold this position. She stood down as Laureate in May 2019.

2. Chilean poet and teacher who became the first Latin American to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature.

Answer: Gabriela Mistral

Gabriela Mistral was a pseudonym of Lucila Godoy Alcayaga. Her poetry covers a range of themes including loss and betrayal, love and motherhood. As well as her Nobel Prize in Literature, which she received from King Gustav of Sweden in 1945, she was also awarded Chile's National Prize for Literature in 1951.

3. Author of "Kindred" and the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.

Answer: Octavia E. Butler

Octavia Estelle Butler grew up in Pasadena, California. She began writing science fiction as a teenager and became a published author in 1971 when one of her short stories, "Crossover", appeared in an anthology. Her best-selling time-travel novel, "Kindred", was published in 1979.

4. The first woman to win the Booker Prize twice with her novels "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies".

Answer: Hilary Mantel

"Wolf Hall", published in 2009, and "Bring Up the Bodies", published in 2012, are the first two volumes of a trilogy telling the story of Thomas Cromwell, the English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII. Mantel received the Booker Prize for both novels, making her the first woman to win the award twice, a feat previously accomplished by male authors J.M. Coetzee and Peter Carey.

5. Puritan poet who became the first published female author in North America.

Answer: Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet was born in England and emigrated to Massachusetts with her family in 1630. In 1647, her brother-in-law returned to England carrying one of Anne's manuscripts of poetry and this was published in London under the title "The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America".

6. English writer and mystic whose "Revelations of Divine Love" is thought to be the earliest surviving book in the English language to be written by a woman.

Answer: Julian of Norwich

Julian of Norwich was born in 1342 and spent much of her life living in seclusion as an anchoress. She is considered to be an important Christian theologian and mystic and wrote several manuscripts describing her visions.

7. The first African American woman to become a published poet.

Answer: Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa but captured by slave traders who brought her to America in 1761. She was sold to the Wheatley family from Boston, Massachusetts who provided her with an education. Several of her collections of poetry were published, including "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" in 1773, and she was eventually emancipated by the Wheatley family.

8. The first English queen to have a book published under her own name.

Answer: Catherine Parr

Catherine Parr was the last of King Henry VIII's six wives. Her first work, "Psalms or Prayers", was published anonymously in 1544 but was followed in 1545 by "Prayers or Meditations" which appeared under her own name.

9. 10th century German canoness, dramatist and poet thought to be the first female playwright.

Answer: Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim

Hrotsvitha lived during the rule of the Ottonian dynasty and wrote in Latin. As well as writing comedies, poems and collections of legends, she also wrote several plays including "Gallicanus", the story of the Emperor Constantine's daughter, Constance.

10. Named by Forbes as the first billionaire author in 2004.

Answer: J.K. Rowling

Forbes magazine removed J.K. Rowling from their rich list in 2012, stating that her large charitable donations and the high UK tax rate meant she was no longer a billionaire in US dollars. Although Rowling is best known for her "Harry Potter" novels, she has also written an adult novel, "The Casual Vacancy", and a series of detective novels published under the name Robert Galbraith.

Source: Author helen295

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Questions		Choices
1. The first woman to hold the position of Britain's Poet Laureate.		J.K. Rowling
2. Chilean poet and teacher who became the first Latin American to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature.		Julian of Norwich
3. Author of "Kindred" and the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.		Gabriela Mistral
4. The first woman to win the Booker Prize twice with her novels "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies".		Catherine Parr
5. Puritan poet who became the first published female author in North America.		Carol Ann Duffy
6. English writer and mystic whose "Revelations of Divine Love" is thought to be the earliest surviving book in the English language to be written by a woman.		Hilary Mantel
7. The first African American woman to become a published poet.		Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim
8. The first English queen to have a book published under her own name.		Phillis Wheatley
9. 10th century German canoness, dramatist and poet thought to be the first female playwright.		Octavia E. Butler
10. Named by Forbes as the first billionaire author in 2004.		Anne Bradstreet