The Ultimate Not So Plain Janes Quiz | First Names

Answer: Eyre

Jane Eyre, an orphan, takes a job as a governess in a house full of secrets. There she falls in love with the boss, Mr. Rochester.

Answer: Austen

Born in 1775, Jane Austen (my favorite dead author) also wrote "Pride and Prejudice," "Sense and Sensibility," "Mansfield Park," "Emma," and "Persuasion." If you like JA, please take some of the quizzes in the Jane Austen section under Literature Before 1900.

By the way, if you haven't read "Northanger Abbey," you should. It's sometimes overlooked by JA fans, but it's funny and beautifully written, like all of her works.

Answer: Bennet

Jane Bennet is one of those people who can never see bad qualities in anyone or imagine why anyone's motives might be anything but good. She marries a man who's just like her, luckily.

Answer: Doe

It's the female equivalent of John Doe: "Police have discovered the body of a Jane Doe. DNA testing may reveal her identity."

Answer: Pittman

Ernest Gaines wrote "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," the novel upon which the film is based. It's the tale of a 110-year-old African American who was born into slavery and lives to see the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960s. After a reporter finds her, Miss Jane tells her life story into a tape recorder.

Answer: Jayne

Singer/actress/curvy pin-up girl Jayne Mansfield, 1933-1967, resembled Marilyn Monroe, though she was less famous than Marilyn. Like MM, she died young (though she did not commit suicide, but perished in a car crash). Mansfield's Sunset Boulevard home was known as "The Pink Palace." Legend has it that the property boasted a heart-shaped, pink-tiled swimming pool.

Her oldest daughter went to my elementary school (my sister knew her)!

Answer: an American social worker

Jane Addams (1860-1935) founded Chicago's Hull House which served immigrants and other underprivileged people by providing daycare and a kindergarten for children of working mothers, a library, an art gallery, music and art classes, a Little Theater, and meeting rooms for labor unions. Hull House also provided a home for single working women.

Answer: Curtin

She used to anchor "Weekend Update" with Dan Aykroyd after Chevy Chase left the show. During their "Point/Counterpoint" debates, Dan would call her, "Jane, you ignorant slut." She'd say, "Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow." Curtin went on to star in "Kate and Allie" (1984-1989) with Susan Saint James.

Answer: Defence Weekly

This British publication concerns war: weapons, and war vehicles on land, in the seas, and in the air. It was founded by Fred T. Jane in the early 1900s. The author/illustrator of "Jane's Fighting Ships," he was a prolific artist and writer who set out to catalog ALL of the world's fighting ships and "airships."

Answer: both of these

The royal Jane Seymour was betrothed to King Henry the day after Anne Boleyn's beheading. She (Jane) died in childbirth. Jane Seymour the actress starred in the popular TV miniseries "War and Remembrance," based on the novel by Herman Wouk. She's also a clothing designer, an artist, and an author.