Big Festive Lit Quiz 2024

While you are sitting on the sofa, sipping a tea, here's a 100 question lit quiz to pass the time with. Do it as a team, by yourself, or as a competition. Up to you.

I've made it simple, no bonuses - but do feel free to feel smug when you know the author or the publication date as well as the title, for example. As ever, mark yourself generously. Good luck.

Here goes:

A. The beginning. Who wrote:

1. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

2. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

3. The Shadow of the Wind

4. The Wind in the Willows

5. The Enchanted April

B. Which author was born first?

1. Emily Brontë or Jane Austen

2. Mark Twain or Ernest Hemingway

3. Milan Kundera or Franz Kafka

4. Alice Walker or Zora Neale Hurston

5. Oscar Wilde or James Joyce

C. What is the author's last name:

1. Zadie _

2. Wilkie _

3. Harper _

4. Chimamanda Ngozi _

5. Jorge Luis _

D. Great and Small. Name the author of:

1. Notes from a Small Island

2. All Creatures Great and Small

3. Small Things Like These

4. The Great Gatsby

5. The God of Small Things

E. Characters. In which book will you find the following:

1. Esmerelda and Quasimodo

2. Mary Lennox, Dickon Sowerby and Ben Weatherstaff

3. Piscine Molitor Patel and Richard Parker

4. Razumikhin and Raskolnikov

5. Prisoner number 24601, Cosette and Inspector Javert

F. Which book was published first?

1. Jamaica Inn, or Kidnapped

2. Treasure Island, or Robinson Crusoe

3. Don Quixote, or Moll Flanders

4. The French Lieutenant's Woman, or Persuasion

5. Frenchman's Creek, or Swallows and Amazons

G. All you need is love. Name the author of

1. The Spy Who Loved Me

2. Women in Love

3. Love in the Time of Cholera

4. Love in a Cold Climate

5. Love is a Many Splendoured Thing

H. Imaginary English places in novel titles:

1. Thomas Hardy's Mayor's town C___

2. Elizabeth Gaskell's C___ Chronicles

3. Jane Austen's N__ Abbey

4. Anthony Trollope's B___ Towers

5. George Eliot's Coventry was renamed as M___

I. What is the author's last name:

1. EM ___

2. HG ___

3. JM ___

4. LM ___

5. JK ___

J. Who wrote:

1. The Master and Margerita

2. The Count of Monte Cristo

3. Les Miserables

4. The Prisoner of Zenda

5. The Little Prince

K. Which writer created detective:

1. Hercule Poirot

2. Jules Maigret

3. Sherlock Holmes

4. Philip Marlowe

5. Harry Hole

L. Authors' first names

1. ___ L Sayers

2. ___ Flaubert

3. ___ Ferrante

4. ___ Tartt

5. ___ Hamsun

M. Who wrote:

1. Fight Club

2. Midnight's Children

3. How to be Both

4. Native Son

5. Perfume

N. Towns and Cities in novel titles:

1. Thomas Mann's Death in V___

2. Geoffrey Chaucer's C__ Tales

3. Hans Fallada's Alone in B___

4. Amor Towles' A Gentleman in M___

5. Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in L___ ___

O. Characters. In which Dickens book will you find:

1. Philip Pirrip, Magwitch and Miss Havisham

2. Nancy, Bill Sykes and the Artful Dodger

3. Betsey Trotwood, Wilkins Micawber and Uriah Heep

4. Smike, Wackford Squeers and Newton Noggs

5. Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge

P. Who wrote:

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns

3. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

4. A Farewell to Arms

5.      One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Q. Which author was born first?

1. Hilary Mantel or Iris Murdoch

2. Henry David Thoreau or Truman Capote

3. Francoise Sagan or Honore de BalzacHonore de Balzac

4. Edgar Allan Poe or Shirley Jackson

5. George Orwell or Rudyard Kipling

R. Characters. In which book will you find the following:

1. Robert Jordan, Pilar, Anselmo and Maria.

2. Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and Smaug the Dragon

3. Winston Smith and Julia

4. Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oak

5. Scout, Jem, Boo and Atticus

S. Who wrote:

1. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

2. Girl with a Pearl Earring

3. The Grand Meaulnes

4. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

5. About a Boy

T. Which was published first?

1. Robinson Crusoe or Treasure Island

2. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie or Mrs Dalloway

3. All Quiet on the Western Front or For Whom the Bell Tolls

4. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy or The Return of the Soldier

5. Things Fall Apart, or The God of Small Things

Answers below…

ANSWERS!

A. The beginning. Who wrote:

1. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - CARSON MCCULLERS

2. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - RACHEL JOYCE

3. The Shadow of the Wind - CARLOS RUIZ ZAFON

4. The Wind in the Willows - KENNETH GRAHAME

5. The Enchanted April - ELIZABETH VON ARNIM

B. Which author was born first?

1. Emily Brontë or Jane Austen - JANE AUSTEN, 1775

2. Mark Twain or Ernest Hemingway - MARK TWAIN, 1835

3. Milan Kundera or Franz Kafka - FRANZ KAFKA, 1883

4. Alice Walker or Zora Neale Hurston - ZORA NEALE HURSTON, 1891

5. Oscar Wilde or James Joyce - OSCAR WILDE, 1854

C. What is the author's last name:

1. Zadie _ - SMITH

2. Wilkie _ - COLLINS

3. Harper _ - LEE

4. Chimamanda Ngozi _ - ADICHIE

5. Jorge Luis _ - BORGES

D. Great and Small. Name the author of:

1. Notes from a Small Island - BILL BRYSON

2. All Creatures Great and Small - JAMES HERRIOT

3. Small Things Like These - CLAIRE KEEGAN

4. The Great Gatsby - F SCOTT FITZGERALD

5. The God of Small Things - ARUNDHATI ROY

E. Characters. In which book will you find the following:

1. Esmerelda and Quasimodo - NOTRE DAME DE PARIS / THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

2. Mary Lennox, Dickon Sowerby and Ben Weatherstaff - THE SECRET GARDEN

3. Piscine Molitor Patel and Richard Parker - THE LIFE OF PI

4. Razumikhin and Raskolnikov - CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

5. Prisoner number 24601, Cosette and Inspector Javert - LES MISERABLES

F. Which book was published first?

1. Jamaica Inn, or Kidnapped - Kidnapped, 1886

2. Treasure Island, or Robinson Crusoe, Robinson Crusoe, 1719

3. Don Quixote, or Moll Flanders - Don Quixote, 1605

4. The French Lieutenant's Woman, or Persuasion - Persuasion, 1817

5. Frenchman's Creek, or Swallows and Amazons - Swallows and Amazons, 1930

G. All you need is love. Name the author of

1. The Spy Who Loved Me / Ian Fleming

2. Women in Love - DH Lawrence

3. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

4. Love in a Cold Climate - Nancy Mitford

5. Love is a Many Splendoured Thing - Han Suyin

H. Imaginary English places in novel titles:

1. Thomas Hardy's Mayor's town C___ - CASTERBRIDGE

2. Elizabeth Gaskell's C___ Chronicles - CRANFORD

3. Jane Austen's N__ Abbey - NORTHANGER

4. Anthony Trollope's B___ Towers - BARCHESTER

5. George Eliot's Coventry was renamed as M___ - MIDDLEMARCH

I. What is the author's last name:

1. EM ___ - FORSTER

2. HG ___ - WELLS

3. JM ___ - BARRIE

4. LM ___ - MONTGOMERY

5. JK ___  - ROWLING

J. Who wrote:

1. The Master and Margerita - MIHAIL BULGAKOV

2. The Count of Monte Cristo - ALEXANDRE DUMAS

3. Les Miserables - VICTOR HUGO

4. The Prisoner of Zenda - ANTHONY HOPE

5. The Little Prince - ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY

K. Which writer created detective:

1. Hercule Poirot - AGATHA CHRISTIE

2. Jules Maigret - GEORGES SIMENON

3. Sherlock Holmes - ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

4. Philip Marlowe - RAYMOND CHANDLER

5. Harry Hole - JO NESBØ

L. Authors' first names

1. ___ L Sayers - DOROTHY

2. ___ Flaubert - GUSTAVE

3. ___ Ferrante - ELENA

4. ___ Tartt - DONNA

5. ___ Hamsun - KNUT

M. Who wrote:

1. Fight Club - CHUCK PALAHNIUK

2. Midnight's Children - SALMAN RUSHDIE

3. How to be Both - ALI SMITH

4. Native Son - RICHARD WRIGHT

5. Perfume - PATRICK SUSKIND

N. Towns and Cities in novel titles:

1. Thomas Mann's Death in VENICE

2. Geoffrey Chaucer's CANTERBURY Tales

3. Hans Fallada's Alone in BERLIN

4. Amor Towles' A Gentleman in MOSCOW

5. Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in LAS VEGAS

O. Characters. In which Dickens book will you find:

1. Philip Pirrip, Magwitch and Miss Havisham - GREAT EXPECTATIONS

2. Nancy, Bill Sykes and the Artful Dodger - OLIVER TWIST

3. Betsey Trotwood, Wilkins Micawber and Uriah Heep - DAVID COPPERFIELD

4. Smike, Wackford Squeers and Newton Noggs - NICHOLAS NICKLEBY

5. Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge - A CHRISTMAS CAROL

P. Who wrote:

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude - GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns - KHALED HOSSEINI

3. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN

4. A Farewell to Arms - ERNEST HEMINGWAY

5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - KEN KESEY

Q. Which author was born first?

1. Hilary Mantel or Iris Murdoch - MURDOCH 1919

2. Henry David Thoreau or Truman Capote - THOREAU 1817

3. Francoise Sagan or Honore de Balzac - BALZAC 1799

4. Edgar Allan Poe or Shirley Jackson - POE 1809

5. George Orwell or Rudyard Kipling - KIPLING 1865

R. Characters. In which book will you find the following:

1. Robert Jordan, Pilar, Anselmo and Maria - FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

2. Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and Smaug the Dragon - THE HOBBIT

3. Winston Smith and Julia - 1984

4. Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oak - FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD

5. Scout, Jem, Boo and Atticus - TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

S. Who wrote:

1. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

2. Girl with a Pearl Earring - TRACY CHEVALIER

3. The Grand Meaulnes - ALAIN FOURNIER

4. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves - PG WODEHOUSE

5. About a Boy - NICK HORNBY

T. Which was published first?

1. Robinson Crusoe or Treasure Island - ROBINSON CRUSOE, 1705

2. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie or Mrs Dalloway - MRS DALLOWAY, 1925

3. All Quiet on the Western Front or For Whom the Bell Tolls -ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, 1928

4. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy or The Return of the Soldier - THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIER, 1918

5. Things Fall Apart, or The God of Small Things - THINGS FALL APART, 1958

How did you get on? I reckon anything over half marks is brilliant. Pop your score in a comment below. Thanks for having a go! 😀