Literature Quiz

Challenge yourself with questions about books, authors, and classic works.

Authors and their works, with some questions on technique rather than plot — stream of consciousness in Mrs Dalloway, for instance. Coverage runs from the classics to twentieth-century fiction.

1000+ questions in this theme

20 of them, with the answers

The questions, with answers

1. How old was the prominent English poet John Keats when he died in 1821?

   Answer25 years old

2. What narrative technique is used in "Mrs Dalloway"?

   AnswerStream of consciousness

3. Which is the correct ending of this quotation by Mark Twain: A classic is something everybody wants to have read and...?

   AnswerNobody wants to read.

4. What did Dick Francis do after the death of his wife?

   AnswerHe began collaborating with his younger son Felix.

5. Who wrote the Southern Gothic novel Absalom, Absalom!?

   AnswerWilliam Faulkner

6. Who wrote The Colorado Kid, Duma Key, and Blockade Billy?

   AnswerStephen King

7. Which 19th century epistolary novel by Wilkie Collins is considered to be the first modern detective novel in the English language?

   AnswerThe Moonstone

8. What character from The Wind in the Willows becomes easily obsessed with items, only to forget about them soon after acquiring them?

   AnswerMr. Toad

9. What carries Dorothy from Kansas to Oz in the novel?

   AnswerA tornado

10. Who killed the French deputy Paul Deroulard in Agatha Christie’s short story The Chocolate Box?

    AnswerHis mother

11. What is emblazoned on the arm of Guy Montags uniform in Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451?

    AnswerA salamander

12. What is the name of Percys half brother in Percy Jackson & the Olympians?

    AnswerTyson

13. What are the henchmen and secret police of the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?

    AnswerWolves

14. What two creatures accompany Edmund as he delivers Peters challenge to King Miraz in the book Prince Caspian?

    AnswerA giant and a centaur

15. In the Arthurian legend, what is the name of King Arthur’s sword?

    AnswerExcalibur

16. From what novel by Englishman Thomas Hardy did the term cliffhanger originate in 1873?

    AnswerA Pair of Blue Eyes

17. What was the popular rumor that circulated about Dick Franciss books?

    AnswerHis wife wrote them.

18. In the book Twilight, Edward says he is 17, but admits he has been 17 for a while. In what year was he actually born?

    Answer1901

19. In "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland," who is Alice chasing when she falls down the rabbit hole?

    AnswerThe White Rabbit

20. What sort of creature is Glimfeather, who helps Eustace and Jill get started on their journey in The Silver Chair?

    AnswerOwl