Under Where? Quiz | Literature: Something in Common

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote a famous radio play set in the village of Llareggub with characters including Organ Morgan, two Mrs Dai Breads and Captain Cat. Which play was it?

Answer: Under Milkwood

"Under Milkwood" was first performed in 1953 as an onstage reading in New York.

"Under Two Flags" was a novel written in 1860 by the British writer Ouida (yes, having one name was fashionable even then) and filmed in 1936 with Ronald Colman and Claudette Colbert.

"Under the Deodars" is a collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling.

2. In the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien, who travelled under the name of Mr. Underhill?

Answer: Frodo

At the suggestion of Gandalf, Frodo used the name Mr. Underhill when he set out from Bag End.

Aragorn travelled under the pseudonym of Strider.

Saruman went under the name of Sharkey when he took over the Shire towards the end of "The Return of the King" this final chapter called the Scouring of the Shire was a major subplot unfortunately omitted from the films.

Bilbo was always just Bilbo.

3. "Under Orders" was just one of the many novels written by English crime writer Dick Francis. His occupation before turning to writing stood him in good stead when it came to his novels. What was it?

Answer: Steeplechase jockey for Her Majesty the Queen Mother

He was a steeplechase jockey who turned to writing when he was injured after a bad fall while riding the Queen Mother's horse in the Grand National. He was close to winning the race at the time.

He also served as a fighter pilot in WWII and several of his novels deal with flying, however the vast majority are set against a horseracing background.

4. "Under the Oak" is a lesser known play by D.H. Lawrence, who is better known as a novelist. In which controversial and often banned novel did he write about an aristocratic affair?

Answer: Lady Chatterley's Lover

What else could it be but Lady Chatterley? One of the most controversial novels of its day, it was banned in most English-speaking countries until 1960.

All of the others are D.H. Lawrence novels.

"Kangaroo" is a semi-autobiographical novel written while Lawrence was living in Thirroul near Sydney.

The 1960 film of "Sons and Lovers" starred Trevor Howard, Dean Stockwell and Wendy Ure and received seven Academy Award nominations, winning Best Cinematography.

"The Escaped Cock" also published as "The Man Who Died", is about the life of Christ after his resurrection.

5. I'd be stunned if you didn't know that Jules Verne wrote "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". Can you tell me which of these was NOT a character in the novel.

Answer: Dr. Samuel Fergusson

Dr. Samuel Fergusson is the hero of another of Jules Verne's novels "Five Weeks in a Balloon". It's about an aerial exploration of Africa.

6. "Under the Andes" is a fantasy novel by Rex Stout. He is better known for which Montenegran-born, orchid-growing, brownstone-dwelling detective?

Answer: Nero Wolfe

Nero Wolfe was a unique detective in that he never left his house to investigate. He was an armchair detective who relied on his confidential assistant, Archie Goodwin, to do all the leg work. One of the rare occasions when he did venture out was in "The Black Mountain". In this book he returns to Europe to avenge the death of an old friend.

Perry Mason was created by Erle Stanley Gardner.

Marcus Didius Falco is a investigator in a series of novels written by Lindsey Davies and set in Vespasian's Rome.

The Hon. Phryne Fisher is the heroine of a series of detective novels written by Kerry Greenwood and set in Melbourne, Australia in the 1920s.

7. An author from down UNDER: Which of these authors was, in 1973, the first Australian to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature? His/Her novels include "Voss" and "The Aunt's Story"

Answer: Patrick White

Patrick White is a very difficult but ultimately rewarding read. He had previously rejected several awards for his writing and did not attend the Nobel ceremony sending noted Australian painter Sidney Nolan in his place.

Alice Munro is a Canadian short story writer who received the 2013 Nobel Prize for literature.

Miles Franklin (Stella Maria Miles Franklin) was a noted Australian Novelist ("My Brilliant Career") whose legacy set up the annual Miles Franklin Award for "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases".

Henry Lawson was a noted Australian poet and writer.

8. UNDER what pseudonym does the author of the science-fiction novel "UNDER the Dome" also write? The novels under this name include "The Long Walk" and "The Running Man".

Answer: Richard Bachman

Richard Bachman is a pseudonym used by Stephen King. He has not only written under the Bachman name but characters in his novels have been known to reference Bachman.

In 2010 King appeared in a cameo in the TV series "Sons of Anarchy" under the name of Richard Bachman. He played a contractor who disposed of bodies.

Paul French was a pseudonym used by Isaac Asimov for his juvenile series of "Lucky Starr" novels.

Arthur C. Clarke published some short stories under the pseudonyms of both Charles Willis and E.G. O'Brien.

9. Buried UNDER a tree planted by Queen Elizabeth I was the step-grandmother of Princess Diana. This prolific author of romances died at the age of 98. Holding the Guinness Book of Records title for the most books published in a year, who was this "pink" lady?

Answer: Barbara Cartland

Barbara Cartland was an interesting character. Publishing an amazing 723 books in her lifetime (although some unkind people have suggested it was the same book 723 times), she also received the Bishop Wright Air Industry Award for work which led to the introduction of troop-carrying gliders used in World War II. She was also an early motor-racing supporter and there is a sitting-room named after her in the Brooklands Museum.

Jean Plaidy and Vctoria Holt are both pseudonyms of Eleanor Hibbert - also no mean slouch in the romantic writing field with over 120 million books sold.

10. The final question is not about a writer or a book but something certainly connected. With which of these literary-related things was the name Underwood associated?

Answer: The manufacture of typewriters

Underwood typewriters were the worlds largest typewriter company. In its heyday the Connecticut factory was manufacturing a typewriter a minute.

Writers known to use Underwoods include Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Source: Author tonye49

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Under Where? Trivia Quiz

This quiz is my first attempt at an Author Quiz Challenge. It covers a range of literary UNDERs.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>