Characters From All Walks of Literature Quiz

Answer: Nicholas Nickleby

First published in serial form in 1838 and 1839, the full title of this novel was "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby". The story relates the adventures of the title character who must support his mother (Catherine) and sister (Kate) following the death of his father.
Wackford Squeers is a nasty piece of work who runs Dotheboys Hall, a boarding school for unwanted children. Smike is one of his unfortunate charges. Newman Noggs is Nicholas's friend who works for the story's evil antagonist, Nicholas's Uncle Ralph.

Answer: Injun Joe

Published in 1876, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is the first of four novels featuring the title character, a young boy growing up alongside the mighty Mississippi.
Sid is Tom's brother. Tom and his friend, Huckleberry Finn, witness Doctor Robinson being murdered in the graveyard. Muff Potter is accused but at the trial Tom testifies that Injun Joe is the killer. Injun Joe escapes but this is not the last that Tom will see of him...
I won't spoil a great story for those of you who haven't yet read it, though.

Answer: Hippolyta

Hippolyta wore the girdle around her waist to signify her authority as Queen of the Amazons. She is a major character in the stories of two mythical heroes.
The ninth labor faced by Heracles is to retrieve Hippolyta's girdle on behalf of Admeta, the daughter of King Eurystheus. Although Hippolyta willingly gave the girdle to Heracles, the Amazons thought she was being abducted and came to defend her and she was slain by Heracles in the ensuing battle.
In Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream", Hippolyta is engaged to Theseus, Duke of Athens. The overall theme of this work is strong women, and Hippolyta exemplifies this by standing up to Theseus and disagreeing with him. In the end, Hippolyta has effectively become Queen of Athens too.
The alternatives were all also Queens of the Amazons.

Answer: Titus Andronicus

Thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and written between 1588 and 1593, "Titus Andronicus" is set during the latter days of the Roman Empire. Considered one of The Bard's least-respected plays, it is also his bloodiest. It was particularly unpopular during the Victorian era because of its graphic (and some would say gratuitous) violence.
Unlike Shakespeare's other Roman plays, which are all based on real people and historical events, "Titus Andronicus" is purely fictional. There is also much debate about the time frame of the setting, with some factors suggesting as early as shortly after the death of Caesar whilst other things point to a period as much as 400 years later.
The two principal players are the title character, a renowned Roman general, and Tamora, Queen of the Goths and later Empress of Rome.

Answer: Bathsheba

Born in Jerusalem, Solomon is the second child born to David, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah and reputedly an ancestor of Jesus, and his wife Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah the Hittite. A member of David's own tribe, Bathsheba is also the granddaughter of Ahitophel, one of David's closest advisers.
Solomon, who is also called Jedidiah, succeeded his father as King of Israel. He reigned approximately from 970 B.C. until 931. He, in turn, was succeeded by his son, Rehoboam.
Obviously an energetic chap -- The Bible says that Solomon had 360 concubines in addition to his 700 wives. (Is this really the way of life of a wise man?!?) The only one of Solomon's wives actually named in the Bible is Naamah, the mother of Rehoboam.

Answer: Biggles

Biggles or, to give him his full name, James Bigglesworth, is a fictional adventurer and pilot in a series of books by William Earl Johns writing under the pseudonym Captain W.E. Johns.
First published in "Popular Flying" magazine in 1932, Biggles made his literary debut in the story "The White Fokker". The character continued his adventures in a series of almost a hundred volumes of short stories and novels until the author's death in 1968.
Along for the ride with Biggles are his cousin Algernon Lacey, nicknamed 'Algy', his mechanic Flight Sergeant Smyth and, joining them since 1935, their teenage friend Ginger Hebblethwaite. The major antagonist in the stories is German intelligence officer Erich von Stalhein.

Answer: The Great Gatsby

Set in the fictional town of West Egg on Long Island, New York, in 1922, "The Great Gatsby" tells the story of a young, mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and his obsession for the former débutante Daisy Buchanan against a background of the "Roaring Twenties".

Answer: Argus

Although not one of the truly evil characters that appear in the "Harry Potter" series, Argus Filch is best described as bad-tempered. His love of harsh punishments means that he is almost universally disliked but students at Hogwarts.
In "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", Harry finds out that Filch is trying to teach himself magic from a correspondence course. Filch has a cat named Mrs Norris.
Argus Filch is played by English actor David Bradley, who has since gone on to play the treacherous Walder Frey in the hit series "Game of Thrones".

Answer: Blondie

The "Blondie" comic strip has been running continuously since September 6, 1930. Three years later, the title character, Blondie Boopadoop, married Dagwood Bumstead. The Bumstead family, with teenage children Alexander and Cookie and their dog, Daisy, live in Joplin, Missouri.
Their best friends, Herb and Tootsie live next door. Other regular characters include Mr Beasley the mailman, Dagwood's boss, Julius Dithers, and the Bumsteads' carpoolers Claudia and Dwitzell.

Answer: The Vimes

Although not a great fan myself, I felt it only right that I should pay homage via a question to one of the most successful and creative writers of our generation, who died today on the day I wrote this quiz -- Terry Pratchett.
Sam Vimes is a fictional policeman in Pratchett's hugely-successful "Discworld" series. During the series, he rises slowly through the ranks of both the police force and society: so much so that by the end of the series his full title is "His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of Ankh; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes".
Sam Vines married the Wagnerian aristocrat Sybil Ramkin at the end of the 15th "Discworld" novel, "Men at Arms", published in 1993. In most of the subsequent novels, Sybil does her best to persuade Sam to take time off work, but he always finds an excuse for not doing so.
Of the alternatives, the Oggs are another "Discworld" family, the Pevensie family are central characters in C.S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia", and the Deschains are in Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series.