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Quiz about Nevil Shute Great Author
Quiz about Nevil Shute Great Author

Nevil Shute - Great Author! Trivia Quiz

Nevil Shute, born 1899 in England, died 1960 in Australia. Author of twenty two fictional novels, of which I have a full set! They are all great reads.

A multiple-choice quiz by craigles. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
craigles
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
273,005
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
267
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
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Question 1 of 10
1. What is the title of Nevil Shute's autobiography? Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. What is the title of Shute's first published novel? Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. Shute's second and third novels were published in 1928 and 1931 respectively. What were these titles? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. In 1936, Shute's publishers sold the film rights for this novel to Ealing Studios, and a film was made based on the book, starring Clive Brook and Victoria Hopper. Which title was this? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. The novel "Ruined City" sees the hero of the story, Henry Warren, take control of a derelict shipyard in a (fictional) run-down town and attempt to build it into a thriving business again. By way of shady overseas business deals, ruining his own reputation in banking, and even serving time in jail, he actually succeeds! What was it though that brought Warren to Sharples in the first place? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. This novel, written in 1938, was published five months before the outbreak of World War Two. There was much activity at the time regarding predictions of another war, and so many possibilities of civilian casualties by way of bombing and gassing. This novel is a story of what certainly could have happened in a coastal town under attack. What is the title? Hint


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Question 7 of 10
7. After leaving Airspeed Ltd in 1938, Nevil Shute and his wife went on a holiday in France, making a random choice of St Claude in the Jura mountains. This area inspired him to base the start of another book there, and this was published in 1942. What was this book titled? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. Shute travelled to Australia in 1948 to start research for a novel which was published in 1957. Which novel? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. The novel "Most Secret" has a central plot around the Brittany coast. A action-packed book, the use of a flamethrower and accelerant fired from a converted fishing boat onto an enemy ship in harbour makes for a most exciting read. What is the correct spelling of the nearest coastal town where this particular written action happened? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. Hooray, the last and possibly the easiest! This title became a movie starring Bryan Brown and later the title of a TV miniseries. Based on a true story, its central plot involves a group of British and Australian prisoners-of-war and some of the subsequent events. Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What is the title of Nevil Shute's autobiography?

Answer: Slide Rule

 Daresay Nevil used a slide rule rather often! His work in the new field (at the time) of commercial aviation and that of airship engineering involved many thousands of hours of calculating work.
2. What is the title of Shute's first published novel?

Answer: Marazan

 Published in 1926, "Marazan" was Shute's third literary effort. Interestingly, his first two fictional projects, rejected by publishers in 1923/24, were published as one volume, "Stephen Morris", after Shute's death in 1960. "Landfall" and "Pied Piper" are two more titles written by Shute.
3. Shute's second and third novels were published in 1928 and 1931 respectively. What were these titles?

Answer: "So Disdained" and "Lonely Road"

 These books were written in the time that Shute was heavily involved in his firm's (Vickers Ltd) competition with the British Government's Air Ministry over building a commercially viable airship and flying a cargo overseas. Vicker's airship, named R100, flew off to Canada on July 29, 1930 (with Shute on board as part of 50-strong crew) and returned on August 16, spending about 130 hours actually flying.

The Air Ministry airship, R101, beset with political interference, embarked for India on October 4 and crashed near Beauvais, France some seven hours after takeoff. Of fifty four persons on board, there were just six survivors. One wonders, with reading Shute's autobiography, just how he ever found the time to write! The other titles in the question are all written by Shute.
4. In 1936, Shute's publishers sold the film rights for this novel to Ealing Studios, and a film was made based on the book, starring Clive Brook and Victoria Hopper. Which title was this?

Answer: Lonely Road

 The film was released in the U.S. as "Scotland Yard Commands" in 1936. Film rights to "Ruined City" were sold in 1937. The other two titles were also written by Shute.
5. The novel "Ruined City" sees the hero of the story, Henry Warren, take control of a derelict shipyard in a (fictional) run-down town and attempt to build it into a thriving business again. By way of shady overseas business deals, ruining his own reputation in banking, and even serving time in jail, he actually succeeds! What was it though that brought Warren to Sharples in the first place?

Answer: He was on a walking holiday.

 True! He'd had his driver take him three hundred miles (close to 500km) from London and arranged to meet him the following week further north. He started feeling ill on the second day of his walk, and managed to hitch a ride to Sharples in a lorry. After the operation, his recuperation and recovery time in Sharples changed his entire outlook on life and he resolved to try to do something to help this town which had helped him. I like this novel very much - a "big business" person actually going out of his way to help the "down and out".

This novel was also published under the title "Kindling".
6. This novel, written in 1938, was published five months before the outbreak of World War Two. There was much activity at the time regarding predictions of another war, and so many possibilities of civilian casualties by way of bombing and gassing. This novel is a story of what certainly could have happened in a coastal town under attack. What is the title?

Answer: What Happened To The Corbetts

 Shute was correct in his thoughts that gas would not be used in such attacks, but he overlooked the catastrophic consequences of fire. Indeed the publishers thought it a good idea to distribute a thousand copies free of charge to people concerned with Air Raid Precautions, on publication rather than as remainders. Shute applauded this move as the novel also drew attention to the possibility of disease.

A highly prophetic work!
7. After leaving Airspeed Ltd in 1938, Nevil Shute and his wife went on a holiday in France, making a random choice of St Claude in the Jura mountains. This area inspired him to base the start of another book there, and this was published in 1942. What was this book titled?

Answer: Pied Piper

 The other titles are all written by Shute. The random selection was simply a closed-eye stab with a pin on the map!
8. Shute travelled to Australia in 1948 to start research for a novel which was published in 1957. Which novel?

Answer: On The Beach

 "On the Beach" became a movie in 1959, starring Ava Gardner and Gregory Peck. The other titles in the question are all Shute titles, all centred in Australia. Shute did emigrate to Australia around 1950.
9. The novel "Most Secret" has a central plot around the Brittany coast. A action-packed book, the use of a flamethrower and accelerant fired from a converted fishing boat onto an enemy ship in harbour makes for a most exciting read. What is the correct spelling of the nearest coastal town where this particular written action happened?

Answer: Douarnenez

 'Brest' is correctly spelled, but not the answer! I would rate "Most Secret" as my favourite Shute publication. It seems so real!
10. Hooray, the last and possibly the easiest! This title became a movie starring Bryan Brown and later the title of a TV miniseries. Based on a true story, its central plot involves a group of British and Australian prisoners-of-war and some of the subsequent events.

Answer: A Town Like Alice

 The true story happened in Sumatra in 1942. A party of about eighty Dutch women and children were rounded up by the Japanese forces in the vicinity of Padang. The local Japanese commander wouldn't assume responsibility for the group, so he simply had them marched out of the area; so began a trek around Sumatra lasting two and a half years as one Japanese commander after another simply didn't want to know. Less than thirty of the group survived the ordeal which covered nearly two thousand kilometres at the end.

In Shute's book, the group eventually found work and shelter in a native village after six months walking.
Source: Author craigles

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