Literature Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 413
Which author did Stephen King refer to in the 1980s by saying, 'I've seen the future of horror, and its name is'?
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clive barker
Which Mississippian author, known for her love of the South, won a Pulitzer Prize for 'The Optimist's Daughter'?
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eudora welty
What is the nickname of Theodore Hickman in Eugene O'Neill's play 'The Iceman Cometh'?
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hickey
What is the name of a poem in which the first letter of each line, when read downward, spells out a word?
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acrostic
Which author, described by Time magazine as 'the tape recorder's best friend,' wrote the book 'Working'?
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studs terkel
Which Southern author completed the Snopes Trilogy with the novel 'The Mansion'?
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william faulkner
Who wrote the quote, 'A man is never so on trial as in the moment of excessive good fortune' in 'Ben Hur'?
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lew wallace
Who authored the poem 'To a Mountain Daisy,' published alongside 'To a Mouse' and 'To a Louse' in 1786?
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robert burns
In James Whitcomb Riley's quote, what is mentioned when he says, 'When the frost is on this, the fodder's in the shock'?
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pumpkin
Who left her New York Times column in 1994 and also published the novel 'One True Thing' in the same year?
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anna quindlen
What is Starbuck afraid no man in his boat should lack fear of, according to his statement?
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whale
Which Shakespeare play mentions 'Scone' as a coronation site in its last word?
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macbeth
Who is the title character in Shakespeare's play that is friends with Benvolio?
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romeo
What is the title of the Hemingway novel about the 'Lost Generation' that is narrated by Jake Barnes?
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sun also rises
Who is the author of 'Skinwalkers', a novel about Navajos who turn away from their people and practice witchcraft?
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tony hillerman
What book precedes James Redfield's 'The Tenth Insight' in his series about spiritual exploration?
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celestine prophecy
Who is the author of the famous story 'Death in Venice,' which opens in Munich?
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thomas mann
Who is the author of the books 'Penrod', 'Penrod and Son', and 'Penrod Jashber'?
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booth tarkington
Which author started his 'Deadly Sins' series in 1973 with 'The First Deadly Sin'?
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lawrence sanders
What American poet is known by the nickname 'The Belle of Amherst'?
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emily dickinson
Which author, known for novels such as 'Emma' and 'Mansfield Park,' published her works anonymously during her lifetime?
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jane austen
Which author wrote the 1968 book 'The Teachings of Don Juan', based on the practices of the Yaqui Indians?
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carlos castaneda
What novel begins with the line 'Howard Roark laughed'?
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fountainhead
What is the title of the 'Declaration of' book written by a person referred to as MRS. SMITH in 1972?
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conscience
Which author's play 'Fences' features Troy Maxson complaining that black men don't get to drive garbage trucks?
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august wilson
What is the native country of Knut Hamsun, the 1920 Nobel Prize winner whose 1890 novel 'Hunger' made him famous?
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norway
Who is the author of 'The Devil's Dictionary', which was originally published as 'The Cynic's Word Book' in 1906?
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ambrose bierce
Which author created the characters Moses Elkanah Herzog, Eugene Henderson, and Von Humboldt Fleisher?
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saul bellow
Who was the author of both 'To Celia' and 'Come, My Celia'?
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ben jonson
Who received a dowry that included half of Baptista's lands and 20,000 crowns after Baptista's death?
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petruchio
Who wrote the lines, 'That's my last duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive. I call that piece a wonder, now'?
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robert browning
Which author of 'Our Mutual Friend' wrote the phrase 'He'd be sharper than a serpent's tooth, if he wasn't as dull as ditch water'?
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charles dickens
What is the name of the pet cat of Alice, who had kittens at the start of 'Through the Looking-Glass'?
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dinah
Who is the author of the famous 1868 story 'The Luck of Roaring Camp' and edited the Overland Monthly?
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bret harte
In which state are most of William Faulkner's novels set, in an imaginary county?
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mississippi
In which city does Vicki Baum's novel 'Grand Hotel' take place?
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berlin
Who is the author of the novel in which Ricky Roma is the top real estate salesman?
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david mamet
What is the name of the character who had 'Great Expectations' and was jilted on her wedding day?
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miss havisham
Who wrote the tragic 1841 ballad 'The Wreck of the Hesperus', which was inspired by an actual shipwreck?
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henry wadsworth longfellow
Who is the author of the book with the subtitle 'A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented' and the title 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles'?
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thomas hardy
Which playwright wrote 'Lysistrata', where the women of Athens refuse to sleep with their men until peace is declared?
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aristophanes
Who is the poet for whom Izaak Walton wrote a moving but inaccurate biography, also known for the work 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'?
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john donne
Which author is Sir John Tenniel best known for illustrating books for, despite drawing cartoons for 'Punch'?
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lewis carroll
In which country are most of Nadine Gordimer's novels, including 'July's People', set?
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south africa
Which Pulitzer Prize-winning author set his novel 'A Death in the Family' in his hometown of Knoxville?
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james agee
What 1959 play did William Gibson write that has a 1982 sequel titled 'Monday After the Miracle'?
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miracle worker
Who is the playwright of 'Pygmalion'?
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george bernard shaw
Which country is August Strindberg, known for 'The Ghost Sonata,' considered the greatest dramatist of?
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sweden
In which novel do characters such as Hugh Conway, a British consul, Chang, a Chinese monk, and Father Perrault, the high lama, appear?
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lost horizon
Which female poet from Maine won a 1923 Pulitzer for several works, including 8 sonnets in 'American Poetry'?
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edna st. vincent millay
In 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes', who is the Scotland Yard inspector that frequently seeks Holmes' assistance when events take a bad turn?
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inspector lestrade
Which author wrote 'Candide,' described by Wordsworth as a 'dull product of a scoffer's pen'?
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voltaire
Who wrote the novel 'Appointment in Samarra'?
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john o'hara
Which author, even after her divorce and remarriage, continued to use the name of her ex-husband Edwin P. Parker II?
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dorothy parker
Which short story by Kafka included instructions to its illustrator not to depict the insect character?
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metamorphosis
Which author wrote 'The Wind in the Willows' for his son Alistair, who was also called Mouse and died at age 20?
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kenneth grahame
Which author went into exile after her uncle, the president of Chile, died in a 1973 coup?
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isabel allende
Who is the author of 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,' a largely autobiographical work?
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james joyce
Who is the author of the short story 'Rappaccini's Daughter,' included in the collection 'Mosses From An Old Manse'?
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nathaniel hawthorne
Which author includes the lesson 'Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody' in his teachings from kindergarten?
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robert fulghum