A Writer's Life Trivia Quiz

Answer: Going Solo

Roald Dahl was born in 1916 and died in 1990. He is well known for his many works of children's literature which include 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Matilda' amongst others although he did also write some works aimed at adults. 'Boy' was first published in 1984 and recounts Dahl's school days ending with him starting his first job. 'Going Solo', published two years later, continued Dahl's story telling of his travels in Africa with his job and his time as a pilot in the RAF in World War II.

Answer: Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett is an English writer who was born in Leeds in 1934. He has written many plays including 'The Madness of George III', 'The History Boys' and 'The Lady in the Van', which have all been made into movies with screenplays written by Bennett. He has also written a number of TV dramas and prose works, both fiction and non-fiction.

Answer: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running' is a memoir by Haruki Murakami which primarily focuses on his interest in long distance running, although it does also include details about his life as a writer. The title of the book is a play on the title of a collection of Raymond Carver's short stories called 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love'.

Answer: Mary Shelley

Miranda Seymour has written a number of biographies and novels including 'Mary shelley' her 2001 biography of the writer of the same name. Mary Shelley is well known as the author of the 1818 Novel 'Frankenstein' which she wrote when she was just 19. Seymour's biography of Mary Shelley includes details of her life as a writer and her relationship with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Answer: Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was born in 1928 and died in 2014 at the age of 86. 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' is the first of seven volumes of autobiographical writing by Angelou and details her life up to the age of 17. As well as her autobiographical works Angelou was also a poet, and she recited the poem 'On the Pulse of the Morning' at Bill Clinton's first inauguration as president of the United States. Alongside her writing Angelou was also known for her civil rights activism.

Answer: A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway was an American author and journalist who was born in 1899 and died in 1961. His first full length novel, 'The Sun Also Rises', was published in 1926. 'A Farewell to Arms' is his second novel and was published in 1929. It is set during the First World War and is inspired by Hemingway's own experiences serving on the Italian Front in this conflict. 'A Moveable Feast' was published posthumously and focuses on Hemingway's time in Paris in the 1920s.

Answer: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1951. 'Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid' details his life in Des Moines up to the age of 18. Bryson is best known for his humorous travel writing including the books 'Notes from a Small Island' about the UK and his similar book about the USA, 'Notes From a Big Country' (published as 'I'm a Stranger Here Myself' in the US).

Although born and brought up in the US Bryson is a dual US/British citizen and has spent many years living in the UK, He held the ceremonial position of Chancellor of Durham University in North East England from 2005-2011.

Answer: Spy novels

John Le Carré is the pen name of English author David John Moore Cornwell who was born in 1931 and died in 2020. He worked for both MI5 and MI6 in the 1950s and 1960s. Le Carré started writing spy novels when he was working for MI6 and had to use a pen name because, as an intelligence officer, he was forbidden from publishing under his own name. Following the publication and success of Le Carré's third novel 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold' he left MI6 and started writing full time.

His most famous character is probably that of intelligence officer George Smiley who features in a number of Le Carré's books. 'The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories From My Life' was published in 2016.

Answer: Stephen King

Stephen King is an American author born in 1947. He is well known for writing horror novels including 'Carrie' and 'It', but has also written in other genres including his fantasy series 'The Dark Tower'. 'On Writing' is split into sections, with the first and fifth sections being more autobiographical while the middle three sections deal more with the craft of writing.

Answer: Lucy Worsley

'Jane Austen at Home' is a biography of the British author Jane Austen. The book tells Austen's story by focusing on the places she lived and stayed during her life. Dr Lucy Worsley is a British historian who has a BA in history from New College, Oxford and a doctoral degree from the University of Sussex.

She has worked as a curator and also presented many historical TV programs for the BBC.