Famous Writers; Obscure Works. Part Two Quiz

Answer: Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang

Ian Fleming wrote this children's book for his son, Casper, in 1964 and published it with illustrations by John Burningham. This was followed by a very successful 1968 film starring Dick Van Dyke. There have been several sequels to the book, but by other writers. Fleming will always be remembered for introducing James Bond into our lives.

Answer: Typee

"Typee" (1846), you may be surprised to know, was Melville's most popular novel during his lifetime. Melville used his experience as a seaman in the Pacific to craft a novel that reads like an adventurous travel book. This was followed by "Omoo" (1847) and "Mardi" (1849) in a similar vein. "Moby Dick" was to come in 1851.

Answer: Pylon

"Pylon" (1935) is a departure from Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County venue. Pylons are markers the barnstorming pilots had to clear during air races of the 1920s and 30s. Jack, the central character, and his crew (that includes his son, a female wing walker, his mechanic, and an alcoholic reporter) eke out a meager hand-to-mouth living with stunts and races that are complicated by their unconventional lives.

A 1958 film called "The Tarnished Angels", starring Rock Hudson, had mixed reviews.

Answer: Youngblood Hawke

"Youngblood Hawke" is a novel supposedly based on the literary life of Thomas Wolfe, but which may have been a trifle autobiographical. It deals with the plight of young writers who have had initial success but now find themselves trying to maintain momentum for new ventures while dealing with sudden wealth and amorous relationships.

A good deal concerns an insider's view of the publishing industry.

Answer: Fires of Spring

"The Fires of Spring" (1949) was published just after his break-through "Tales of the South Pacific". It is considered partly autobiographical, and deals with a young man's coming of age in pre-war WWII. It was after this that he began to write fictional, lengthy generational family sagas around geographical locations.

He was known for his meticulous research and incorporating solid history. But "The Fires of Spring" has a touch more passion than what were to become formalistic novels.

Answer: Diamond As Big As the Ritz

John T. Unger, a student at an up-scale private school in the east, befriends a fellow student and social outcast named Percy Washington. Percy invites John to visit his home 'in the west' for summer break. John learns that Percy's father is the richest man in the world because he owns a mountain in Montana of solid diamond.

While there he falls in love with Percy's sister Kismine and learns that the diamond is a secret to the outside world, and knowledge of it would depress the value of diamonds; therefore, he cannot leave or he will be killed. Published in 1922, it was an early Fitzgerald novella.

Answer: The Man Who Laughs

While living in exile in the Channel Islands, Hugo wrote "The Man Who Laughs" in 1869. Gwynplaine is a child who rescues an infant named Dea after her mother died. They are adopted by an itinerant carnival vendor. Gwynplaine's face has been mutilated so that he has a permanent smile carved into his face, and Dea has been born blind. Fifteen years later, they are in love. Briefly, there is a dark undercurrent of political intrigue that results in tragedy.

The image of Gwynplaine is said to have inspired the villain "The Joker" in the Batman franchise.

Answer: Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp

"Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp" was published in 1856, three years after her "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and continued her abolitionist views. In her time, it outsold "Uncle Tom's Cabin", but has been dismissed as lacking emotional impact and being more of an exposé. Dred is an escaped slave who lives in the swamp and fights against slavery.

Answer: The Edible Woman

Marian is an independent professional woman. Upon becoming engaged to marry, she develops the delusion that when she eats or uses something that she is devouring herself. It is called 'metaphorical cannibalism', in that transferring from an independent role to a submissive role in marriage is akin to losing a part of one's self.

The novel emphasizes the issues of feminism in the 1969-1970s.

Answer: Savrola

Winston Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values." This was based on his non-fiction on history and politics.

However, in 1900 he published his only novel, "Savrola". It was not a great success so he did not return to the genre. The plot takes place in fictional Laurania, a nation under control of a dictatorial government where a violent revolution develops. Libraries filed it under 'youth adventure stories'.

He also made an agreement with another novelist with the same name to use an 'S.' on his books.