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Quiz about Classic Authors LesserKnown Works

Classic Authors - Lesser-Known Works Quiz

In an ongoing mission to convince people that great literature extends far beyond the books forced upon us in high school, this is a quiz concerning some recommended lesser-known works by great authors. Simply pick which work I'm describing and learn!

A multiple-choice quiz by firemaple783. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
firemaple783

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
219,907

Updated
Feb 20 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
443

Last 3 plays: Guest 69 (3/10), Trish192 (3/10), Guest 24 (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What is the title of Nathaniel Hawthorne's first novel, sometimes called "amateurish," that the author himself attempted to suppress soon after self-financing its publication? Hint

The Marble Faun

The Snow-Image

Fanshawe

Israel Potter

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. With events including an accidental bombing incident perpetrated by the RAF, George Orwell wrote this comic novel about a man who tires of his life and becomes determined to return to his roots. Hint

Coming Up For Air

The Road to Wigan Pier

Butterfield 8

Down and Out in Paris and London

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. In this early sometimes-comic novel about rural Russian life, Fyodor Dostoevsky pokes fun at a narrator he describes as being "not unlike myself." Hint

Petersburg

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

The Village of Stepanchikovo

Old Fashioned Farmers

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. This is Vladimir Nabokov's story of a Russian professor who becomes entangled in a web of academic conspiracies that play out at a climactic faculty party. Hint

Papillon

Another Country

Sanctuary

Pnin

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. What precursor to the ambitious "Middlemarch" shows George Eliot's deep interest in political and sociological concerns in Victorian England? Hint

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Amos Barton

Felix Holt, the Radical

The Way We Live Now

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the renowned author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, wrote this historical adventure novel about a band of archers set in the 14th century. Even though Doyle believed it to be his best work, it is not as well known as the legendary detective. Which novel is it? Hint

The White Company

The Lost World

Kenilworth

The Adventures of Captain Hatteras

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Although Gustave Flaubert is best known for having written "Madame Bovary," this extensively researched work describing Ancient Carthage is often referred to as his masterpiece. Hint

Kim

The Sign of the Four

Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress

Salambo

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Known for his rousing adventure stories, what entertaining Jack London short novel tells the story of a young man who inadvertantly becomes entangled with seafaring thieves? Hint

The Cruise of 'The Dazzler'

Omoo

The Cruel Sea

The Tale of the Unkown Island

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. A writer often concerned with economics, Sinclair Lewis wrote what compellingly psychological novel about an automobile magnate who finds himself free-floating after his company is bought out? Hint

An American Tragedy

The Red and the Black

Dodsworth

The Financier

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. What collection of John Steinbeck's fascinating dispatches written during World War II stands as a testament to the author's considerable journalistic skills? Hint

Vessel of Sadness

The Short-Timers

Once There Was A War

The Night of Time

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Most Recent Scores

Apr 11 2024 : Guest 69: 3/10
Apr 05 2024 : Trish192: 3/10
Apr 03 2024 : Guest 24: 7/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is the title of Nathaniel Hawthorne's first novel, sometimes called "amateurish," that the author himself attempted to suppress soon after self-financing its publication?

Answer: Fanshawe

"The Snow-Image" was Hawthorne's continuation of the beloved short story collection, "Twice-Told Tales," while "The Marble Faun" was Hawthorne's last finished novel--notable for being the author's only major work to take place outside New England. "Israel Potter" was Herman Melville's attempt to rejuvinate his career after the crushing disappointment of his controversial novel "Pierre."

Answer: Coming Up For Air

"The Road to Wigan Pier" and "Down and Out in Paris and London" are both nonfiction works by Orwell noted for their technically uneven writing and passionate sympathy for the working classes. "Butterfield 8" is an often overlooked novel deserving a place among author John O'Hara's best works.

3. In this early sometimes-comic novel about rural Russian life, Fyodor Dostoevsky pokes fun at a narrator he describes as being "not unlike myself."

Answer: The Village of Stepanchikovo

"The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" is one of Dostoevsky's particularly bleak short stories, "Old Fashioned Farmers" is a short story by Nikolai Gogol, and "Petersburg" is Andrei Bely's surrealist masterpiece about the title city.

4. This is Vladimir Nabokov's story of a Russian professor who becomes entangled in a web of academic conspiracies that play out at a climactic faculty party.

Answer: Pnin

"Papillon" is the story of author Henri Charriere's daring escape from imprisonment in French Guiana, "Sanctuary" is William Faulkner's brutal novel about a group of people who come together and do horrible things in Tennessee, while "Another Country" is a fiery work by James Baldwin dealing with racism and sexual boundaries.

5. What precursor to the ambitious "Middlemarch" shows George Eliot's deep interest in political and sociological concerns in Victorian England?

Answer: Felix Holt, the Radical

While also predating "Middlemarch," Eliot's "Amos Barton" is a relatively unambitious story of a middle-aged clergyman, much more along the lines of "Silas Marner." "The Way We Live Now" is a widely read work by Anthony Trollope and "The Mayor of Casterbridge" is one of Thomas Hardy's most revered novels.

Answer: The White Company

"The Lost World," another work by Doyle, deals with explorers in a hidden jungle filled with dinosaurs, "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras," is by another pioneer of science-fiction, Jules Verne, while "Kenilworth" is one of Walter Scott's weighty tomes about Elizabethan England.

7. Although Gustave Flaubert is best known for having written "Madame Bovary," this extensively researched work describing Ancient Carthage is often referred to as his masterpiece.

Answer: Salambo

"Kim" is Rudyard Kipling's beloved tale of India, "Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress" is Daniel Defoe's tragic "autobiography" of a social climber, and "The Sign of the Four" is one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's many Sherlock Holmes stories.

8. Known for his rousing adventure stories, what entertaining Jack London short novel tells the story of a young man who inadvertantly becomes entangled with seafaring thieves?

Answer: The Cruise of 'The Dazzler'

"The Cruel Sea" is Nicholas Monsarrat's sprawling novel about warfare at sea, "Omoo" is a continuation of Herman Melville's first novel, "Typee," based on Melville's adventures in the south seas, and "The Tale of the Unknown Island" is a brief fairy tale by Jose Saramago.

9. A writer often concerned with economics, Sinclair Lewis wrote what compellingly psychological novel about an automobile magnate who finds himself free-floating after his company is bought out?

Answer: Dodsworth

"The Red and the Black" (whose title doesn't refer to corporate profit and loss) was written by Stendahl and noted as one of the first realistic and psychological novels, while "The Financier" and "An American Tragedy" are both works by another economically-minded American, Theodore Dreiser.

10. What collection of John Steinbeck's fascinating dispatches written during World War II stands as a testament to the author's considerable journalistic skills?

Answer: Once There Was A War

Gustav Hasford's fabulously frightening "The Short-Timers" was the basis for Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket." The military novel "The Night of Time," by Rene Fueloep-Miller, is noted as a skillfull blend of Franz Kafka and Erich Maria Remarque, and William Woodruff's "Vessel of Sadness" is a unique blend of history, fiction, poetry, and journalism about the World War II battle at Anzio.

Source: Author firemaple783

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