Black Books Trivia Quiz

Answer: Horse

'Black Beauty' was first published in 1877 and is narrated by the title character, Black Beauty, who is a horse. Although it is widely regarded as a children's book, Sewell did not originally intend the novel to be for children; instead she wrote the book to highlight the poor treatment of many working horses and to promote better horse welfare.

Answer: Shetland

Shetland is the name of a group of islands off the north east coast of Scotland. 'Raven Black' is the first novel in the series by Ann Cleeves which sees Jimmy Perez investigate crimes in Shetland. The books have been made into a TV series, titled 'Shetland', which first aired in the UK in 2013.

Answer: Mark Bowden

'Black Hawk Down' is a non-fiction book first published in 1999. It recounts an incident that took place in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in 1993 in which a group of US forces came under sustained attack from heavily armed Somalis. The book's title reflects the fact that during the attack two US Black Hawk helicopters were shot down.

The book was made into a film in 2001 directed by Ridley Scott.

Answer: Hercule Poirot

Christie originally wrote 'Black Coffee' as a stage play which was first performed in 1930. The novelist Charles Osborne adapted the play into a novel which was first published in 1998. Following the success of 'Black Coffee', Osborne has adapted a number of other Christie plays into novels. Hercule Poirot is a Belgian detective who appears in many novels by Agatha Christie.

Answer: Orange is the New Black

Piper Kerman served thirteen months in prison starting in 2004 after pleading guilty to charges relating to drug smuggling and money laundering. Her memoir of her time in prison, titled 'Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison', was published in 2010 and was adapted into a TV series which first aired on Netflix in 2013.

Answer: Susan Hill

'The Woman in Black' was first published in 1983. The plot revolves around a ghostly figure, the titular "woman in black", who haunts a small town and signals the death of children. The novel was adapted into a play in 1987 and was made into a film starring Daniel Radcliffe in 2012.

Answer: Cornwall

The 'Poldark' novels are a series of historical novels by Winston Graham centering around the character Ross Poldark and his decendants. They are set in the county of Cornwall in the southwest of England, where Ross Poldark returns following his time as an army officer during the American War of Independence.

The novels have been been adapted for TV both in the 1970s and in a series which premiered in 2015.

Answer: James "Biggles" Bigglesworth

The 'Biggles' series contains a large number of novels by Capt. W E Johns all featuring the exploits of the pilot James Bigglesworth, nicknamed Biggles. The novels cover a wide historical period starting during World War 1 and ending sometime after the Second World War. 'The Black Peril' was published in 1935 and is set in the period between the two world wars.

The plot focuses on Biggles foiling a German plot against the UK

Answer: The Regency

Georgette Heyer was a British author who lived between 1902 and 1974. She is well known for her historical romantic fiction, although she also wrote some detective fiction as well. She wrote many historical romances set during the Regency period of which 'Black Sheep', published in 1966, is one.

The Regency is the name given in the UK to a period in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. It is so called as it was during this time that the future King George IV ruled as Prince Regent for his father King George III who was unfit to rule due to his periods of madness.

Answer: Ian McEwan

'Black Dogs' was first published in 1992. The novel focuses on a couple honeymooning in France who have an encounter with the foreboding black dogs of the title. Ian McEwan is a British author who was born in 1948 and has written many well known novels including 'Atonement and 'On Chesil Beach'.