Writers & Authors Trivia

61. Who wrote the book "Suryavansha"?

From Quiz Authors From India (Part I)

Answer: Kalidas

Kalidas was a Classical Sanskrit writer and is widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. He is also known as 'Shakespeare Of India'. His other famous books: "Meghduta", "The Birth of Kumara", "The Origin of Young God" and other works.

From Quiz Might Makes Write

Answer: Army

Kurt Vonnegut served in the 106th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. The 106th at the time was inexperienced and ended up being caught off-guard by a surprise German offensive that kick-started the Battle of the Bulge. Vonnegut was captured by the Germans and sent with other prisoners in a boxcar to a prison camp near the city of Dresden. He and other prisoners lived in a slaughterhouse and were put to work at a factory. On February 13, 1945, Allied bombers attacked the city of Dresden, reducing much of the city to rubble and killing many civilians. Vonnegut survived the bombings thanks to hiding in a meat locker located underground. After the bombing, he was tasked with excavating bodies from the rubble so that they could be buried. The experience and aftermath of the bombing of Dresden greatly traumatized Vonnegut, and those familiar with the book, "Slaughterhouse-Five", can see how much of an influence his experiences in war played in his novel.

From Quiz Writers of the Ancient World

Answer: Plato

The "Dialogues" by Plato tell us about Socrates' teachings. Two of them are of special interest: "Crito" is a conversation between Socrates and his rich friend Crito about "justice" and why Socrates should face death and not try to escape. In "Phaedo", Plato describes Socrates' death and his beliefs in a spiritual world. After Socrates died, Plato traveled for 12 years and finally went back to Athens and founded the Academy. One of his most famous students was Aristotle.

From Quiz Drink up me Hearties

Answer: Raymond Chandler

"Dead men are heavier than broken hearts", is the epitaph placed on Chandler's tombstone. Sadly, Chandler abused alcohol throughout his career in writing. His writing apparently did not improve with this imbibing. Interestingly enough, Humphrey Bogart seemed to portray the quintessential Philip Marlowe.

From Quiz Right Makes Write

Answer: Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler first big success was "Raise the Titanic." He has made the New York Best Seller List multiple times, including being number 1 six times. Is he conservative? In 2013, he hosted a $5000.00 a plate Arizona Republican party fundraiser.

From Quiz Meter Magic

Answer: G. K. Chesterton

The Donkey "When forests walked and fishes flew and figs grew upon the thorn...." G. K. Chesterton Educated at St. Paul's School, London, G. K. Chesteron did not complete his course at the Slade School of Art. Chesterton's writing career began with menial jobs in the newspaper publishing field. His brother, Cecil, owned the newspaper, "The New Witness" and upon the death of the latter's death Gilbert took over its publication, and thus the start of his literary career. G. K. Chesterton considered himself just a "jolly journalist". Gilbert Keith Chesterton is famous for his acumen, be it in literary criticism, religious philosophy, biographer, or author. An Anglican convert to Roman Catholicism, his popular success came with the publication of the Father Brown detective stories. The first of which, "The Innocence of Father Brown", was published in 1911. The poem "The Donkey" reflects G.K. Chesterton's religiosity in his writings, with the celebration of the humble donkey ridden by Christ as he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

From Quiz Published Junkies

Answer: Allen Ginsberg

Ginsberg's blatant references to homosexuality and drug use in this seminal work of American poetry led to a 1957 obscenity trial. Ultimately, the California Supreme Court held that the work was of "redeeming social importance."

From Quiz More Than Human

Answer: John Christopher

John Christopher was a pseudonym for Samuel Youd (1922-2012). He also wrote "The Death of Grass". "The White Mountains" is about how Will, the protagonist, runs away to the White Mountains to avoid being enslaved by the Tripods. The Tripods are aliens who took over Earth and rule over the people. "The White Mountains" came out in 1967.

From Quiz Authors - Bits and Pieces

Answer: Walt Disney

Pamela Lyndon Travers was an Australian author and actress. She was born in Maryborough, Queensland in 1899, and died in London in 1996 at the grand old age of 96. She wrote a series of eight books about Mary Poppins. More films weren't made from Pamela's books on the brisk Nanny because Mary and Walt Disney had a real falling out about his interpretation of her work. She particularly disliked the watering down of the "harsher aspects of Mary Poppins's character", didn't particularly care for the music included in the film and didn't like the animated scenes. Her portrayal of the character was a nanny who was "stern, vain, and usually cross", not the somewhat sugary character seen in the film. As a result of this disagreement, she wasn't even invited to the premiere of the film and had to apply for permission to attend. There she argued once again with Disney, stating that the animated sequences had to come out. Disney's reaction was to turn his back on her and walk away, saying as he went, "Pamela, that ship has already sailed". She never forgave him, refused to grant permission to have any more movies made on Mary Poppins and, for the rest of her life, refused to have any American at all have anything to do with her work.

From Quiz Those Scribbling Jailbirds

Answer: Henry David Thoreau

During his two-year stay at Walden Pond, Thoreau spent one night in the local jail after refusing to pay his poll tax, an act of protest against the United States' war with Mexico. He felt the war was an excuse for more territory for the expansion of slavery, something he vehemently despised. This experience inspired him to write and publish "Resistance to Civil Government" in 1849; however, the title was suspiciously changed to "Civil Disobedience" in 1866 in another publication. As legend has it, Emerson, Thoreau's mentor and friend, visited him the night of his stay in jail and asked Thoreau, "Why are you here?" Thoreau replied, "Why are you NOT here?"

From Quiz Midwest Authors

Answer: The appearance of Halley's Comet

He is quoted as saying he intended to go out with Halley's Comet and it would be the biggest disappointment of his life if he didn't. He died in April 1910 -- the same month as the comet's return. His boyhood home and Tom Sawyer's cave are open to the public in Hannibal, Missouri. Mark Twain National Forest in South Central Missouri was established in 1939. The Sultana sank in 1865, the Mexican-American War started in 1846 and Missouri became a state in 1821. (Duchess716)

From Quiz Round and Round the Table

Answer: The New Yorker Magazine & The New Yorker & New Yorker Magazine & New Yorker

Although not an especially cultured man himself, he was a meticulous editor with an innate sense of what felt right in a piece. James Thurber said of him "He had a sound sense, a unique almost intuitive perception of what was wrong with something, incomplete or out of balance, understated or over-emphasized." He also described Ross's mind as being "uncluttered with culture". Ross created a forum for some of the best writers and satirical cartoonists of the day, a tradition that has been carried into the 21st Century.

From Quiz Initially Famous

Answer: Wystan Hugh

1907-1973. Born in York, England, Auden became a resident in the U.S.A, in 1939 and became a U.S. citizen in 1946. From 1956-1961 he was Professor of Poetry at Oxford University. He died in Vienna and is buried at Kirchstetten.

From Quiz Authors I Love

Answer: Daniel Handler

Daniel Handler, as Lemony Snicket, wrote "A Series of Unfortunate Events". There are thirteen books in the series. He was born on February 28, 1970 in San Francisco, California. "Lemony Snicket" is the narrator for "A Series of Unfortunate Events".

From Quiz A Literary Gazetteer of Wales

Answer: Beddgelert

Mr. Alfred Edmeades Bestall, M.B.E. who illustrated the famous Rupert Bear stories, in the 'Daily Express' newspaper for over 40 years, lived in Beddgelert in North Wales. He made his home in a little cottage called "Penlan" in 1956. Many of the illustrations to the Rupert Bear stories were inspired by the scenery in and around Beddgelert. Over the footbridge and alongside the River Glaslyn, a meadow known as "Cae Gel" has recently been planted with shrubs, trees and wild flowers, to be used as a picnic area It has been created with the financial help of "The Followers of Rupert Bear" in memory of Mr Bestall.

From Quiz Authorial Family Ties

Answer: Edwards

Monica Edwards was a popular author during the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Her best known books were contained in two series - The Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm series, but she also wrote non-fiction for adults. Titles included "The Cats of Punchbowl Farm" and "Badger Valley".

From Quiz Poets Who Were Novelists and vice versa

Answer: Lady Chatterley's Lover

D. H. [David Herbert] Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' was first printed in Florence, Italy, in 1928. It was banned as 'pornography' in both the UK and the USA for many years; not until 1960 was it published in the UK. 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' was written by Oscar Wilde in 1890. 'Middlemarch' was written by George Eliot in 1872; George Eliot was actually the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. 'Evelina' was an epistolary novel - a novel told through letters - and was written by Fanny Burney in 1778.

From Quiz Literary Suicides

Answer: Sylvia Plath

Plath was married to another celebrated poet, Ted Hughes. Their relationship was dramatized in the 2003 film "Sylvia," starring Daniel Craig and Gwyneth Paltrow.

From Quiz Literary Biographies

Answer: Franz Kafka

A writer himself, Max Brod (1884-1968) was Franz Kafka's friend, supporter, literary executor and biographer. Frank Kafka was born in 1883 to a Jewish German-speaking family in Prague, a city which belonged at the time to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Kafka's novels, such as "The Metamorphosis" (1915), or the posthumously published "The Trial" (1925) and "The Castle" (1926), have come to symbolise the angst and alienation of the modern man in a hostile and absurd world. Kafka died of tuberculosis in 1924. Czech-born Austrian writer Franz Werfel (1890-1945) belonged to the circle of friends around Kafka and Brod. Austrian was also biographer, novelist and essayist Stephan Zweig (1881-1942). Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990, "The Visit of the Old Lady") is one of the most illustrious contemporary Swiss playwrights and novelists.

From Quiz Collected Literary Oddities Vol. 2

Answer: Mark Twain

Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Clemens (1835-1910) one of America's most prolific and respected writers with over thirty novels and hundreds of short stories to his credit. He was an avid correspondent and his letters reveal him to have had wide contacts with the literati of his day including Robert Browning, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ivan Turgenev and William Dean Howells to name but a few.

From Quiz Collected Literary Oddities Vol. 1

Answer: William Dampier

William Dampier (1651-1715) was Master of the vessel who rescued Alexander Selkirk. The church was East Coker. Dampier was the first person to circumnavigate the world twice, and went on to complete a third circumnavigation. His career was a mixture of scientific discovery, exploration and buccaneering.

From Quiz Authors from A to Z

Answer: Emily Bronte

Emily, who is often said to have surpassed her sisters Charlotte and Anne as a poet and writer, published her masterpiece "Wuthering Heights" in 1847 under the name of Ellis Bell. (In those days it wasn't considered quite proper in England for a woman to write published novels, so some wrote under pseudonyms).

From Quiz Writers and Prisons

Answer: Charges involving his sexual behavior

Wilde got into trouble for flaunting his homosexuality. While in prison, he wrote "De Profundis" about his experiences; "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" also draws on his prison experiences.

From Quiz Dramatic Lives of Literary People

Answer: Gogol

He wrote "Dead Souls". Then, he wrote a second part - and destroyed it. He fasted in order to get ready to write another segment ... but apparently went too far and destroyed his health.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Famous Writers

Answer: Mary Ann Evans

A woman, Mary Ann Evans used the name George Eliot to ease publication. An interesting tidbit of information about George Eliot - She had a romantic affair with a married man, George Henry Lewes, for over twenty years because he couldn't divorce his mentally unbalanced wife.

From Quiz Famous Authors And Poets Biographies

Answer: Horace

He also wrote "Epodes" in 30 BC and "Odes" from 23-13 BC.

From Quiz Famous Polish Writers

Answer: Henryk Sienkiewicz

Henryk Sienkiewicz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "because of his outstanding merits as an epic writer" in 1905. Sienkiewicz was the most celebrated and prolific Polish writer of the second half of the 19th century. His greatest literary achievement is a historical trilogy, which consists of "Ogniem i Mieczem" (With Fire and Sword), "Potop" (The Deluge) and "Pan Wolodyjowski" (Pan Michael), about Poland's glorious past (all three novels were adapted into very popular movies). In 1895 Sienkiewicz published "Quo Vadis", a novel about Christians persecuted in Rome under the reign of Emperor Nero. Several movies were based on that novel, but the most elaborate version was produced by MGM in 1951, and starred Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr and Peter Ustinov.

From Quiz Who Literally Said What About Which Literary Great

Answer: Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, British poet laureate, was credited with this quip in 1897 in "A Memoir by his Son". He served 42 years as poet laureate and his works reflected the moral and intellectual values of his time.

From Quiz Common Bond - Find This Mystery Author

Answer: Anne Elliot

"Persuasion" was her last completed novel.

From Quiz Very Dramatic Lives of Creative People

Answer: Leo Tolstoy

The author of what many consider to be the greatest novel ever written may have been serious in his writing, but didn't allow that to prevent him from enjoying himself outside of his marriage. Kafka also had family problems: see his famous letter to his father. As for Dostoevski, being lined up in front of a firing squad for execution probably isn't a lot of laughs.

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Last Updated Aug 08 2026 5:44 AM

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