Author! Author! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lillian Hellman

Lillian Hellman (1905-84) went from working for $50 per week to being a successful Broadway playwright. This led directly to opportunities as a screenwriter and much, much better pay. Unfortunately, Hellman's political leanings led to being blacklisted in Hollywood after she was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and refused to answer their questions. This did not stop her from continuing to write for Broadway, but her career would never recover.

Hellman's most well-known work was her 1939 play "The Little Foxes", which she also adapted for the silver screen in 1941, making her the first woman to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Answer: Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812-70) rose out of poverty to achieve great success during his lifetime. As a youth, Dickens' father was in debtor's prison and Charles had to work in a boot-blacking factory to help support his family. After finishing his schooling, Dickens worked briefly as a legal clerk before endeavouring to pursue writing as a career at the age of 21. His first great success came with "The Pickwick Papers" in 1836, and soon he became an international celebrity.

By the time of his death at the age of 58, Dickens had created some of the most memorable stories and characters in British literary history, becoming such a standard of the Victorian era, that his name came to be used as an adjective to describe similar styles of writing in the years since (Dickensian).

E.M. Forster, Joseph Conrad, and H.G. Wells are all considered to be of the Edwardian era.

Answer: Frances Parkinson Keyes

Frances Parkinson Keyes (1885-1970) got her start as a writer a couple of years just as her banker husband entered politics, writing articles for magazines. Once they relocated to Washington in 1919, her experiences there were captured in both fiction and non-fiction writings.

After her husband died in 1938, she devoted ever more time to her craft, becoming a popular author known for her great attention to historical and geographical detail in her settings. She relocated to Louisiana in the 1950s, and some of her best known and well-loved books were written in this latter part of her life and career.

Answer: Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker (1847-1912) began his literary career while in university, and would pursue it continually throughout his life as largely a sideline to his primary career as business manager of the Lyceum Theatre (for 27 years). This position, alongside his working as Sir Henry Irving's assistant, provided him with many opportunities to connect with high society, and to travel extensively.

Stoker's most well-known work is, of course, "Dracula" (1897), but he never actually visited Eastern Europe during his many travels, ironically. Dracula's castle, as described in the story, was based off of 'Slains Castle' in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Answer: Laura Ingalls Wilder

It was the Great Depression that prompted Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) to actively seek publication of her memoirs (which she called "Pioneer Girl") as a means to generate income, at the prompting of her daughter (also an author). After some revision and expansion, the first installment of her story, originally titled "When Grandma Was a Little Girl", was repackaged as "Little House in the Big Woods". Thus was born the "Little House" series of children books that would later be immortalized on television, and expanded on by other authors.

After her death at the age of 90, Wilder's home was turned into a museum to celebrate her life and (especially literary) accomplishments.

Answer: William Makepeace Thackeray

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63) was an indifferent student in his youth, making a couple of aborted attempts at a college education before coming into his inheritance at the age of 21. He managed his wealth about as well as his schooling, wasting much on gambling and poor investments. After he married in 1836, he began to pursue his writing in earnest as a journalist and critic, while producing his first novel in 1839.

Thackeray's best-known (satirical) work is "Vanity Fair" (featuring the quick-witted Becky Sharp), that shone a light on British society. When originally published in serial form, it carried the subtitle, "Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society", and when later published as a complete novel, Thackeray altered the subtitle to read, "A Novel without a Hero".

Answer: Catherine Cookson

Catherine Cookson (1906-98) had a rough upbringing, but worked hard to make a better life for herself. She married in her 30s, but after a number of miscarriages, suffered from a mental breakdown that took a long time from which to recover. It was during this time that Cookson turned to writing as an outlet to help, resulting in her first published novel "Kate Hannigan" at the age of 44.

In the latter half of her life, Cookson published over 100 novels, making her one of the most prolific British novelists. She not only wrote as Catherine Cookson, but also under the pen names 'Catherine Marchant' and 'Katie McMullen'.

Answer: Dominick Dunne

Dominick Dunne (1925-2009) had a very successful career in television (and also film), and lived a life of some extravagance, to the point where he decided to leave it behind and move to the Oregon countryside in 1979. It was there that he turned to writing, eventually publishing his first novel "The The Winners" (1982).

His life took a tragic turn when his daughter was murdered that same year, and he turned that pain and experience into writing, resulting in articles and stories involving crime and justice (and sometimes the lack thereof), in addition to works of fiction.

Answer: Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell (1900-49) was born into a wealthy Southern family and spent much of her life as a socialite. Her penchant for writing began at a young age (with a novella and a collection of her short stories from that time in her life being published posthumously), and continued into her college years when she would write for and act with the drama club. After her time as a journalist for the "Atlanta Journal", Mitchell turned to home life and lots of reading.

Mitchell's impetus for beginning her work on "Gone with the Wind" was during a convalescence from an ankle injury that kept her cooped up at home (and the encouragement of her husband, "For God's sake, Peggy, can't you write a book instead of reading thousands of them?").

Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) may not have achieved success in his originally chosen profession, but his scholarly skills were well-reflected in his literary characters. While Doyle's most famous and enduring character is, as you know, Sherlock Holmes, he did not limit his writings to this one (albeit extremely popular) character. In fact, at one point he tried to kill Holmes off, wanting to devote more time to historical novels... then ended up bowing to the pressure of his fandom to bring Sherlock back for more adventures.

Outside of his medical and literary careers, Doyle also displayed interest and skills in other fields, including sports, politics (he ran for Parliament twice), and architecture (he helped design his home).