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Quiz about Classic English Novels
Quiz about Classic English Novels

Classic English Novels Trivia Quiz


You are given the summary of the initial situation or events of a classic English novel. Up to you to find out which one is meant.

A multiple-choice quiz by flem-ish. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
flem-ish
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
74,365
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
4050
Last 3 plays: Guest 194 (6/10), Guest 2 (5/10), Guest 14 (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. A nineteen-year-old youngster leaves the seaport town of Hull, and boards a vessel bound for London which gets into a storm. Later he boards an African trading vessel, which is attacked by Turkish buccaneers. They sell him into slavery. He manages to escape and is picked up by a Portuguese freighter bound for Brazil. That's by far not the end of his adventures yet. Ultimately everything ends well for him and he can return to good old England. In literature this character has become a kind of prototype of the 'white colonist'. Which of these books does this very brief summary refer to? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. May 4, 1699: The story begins with a doctor who books a passage aboard a ship that leaves from Bristol for the South Seas. Northwest of Van Diemen's land, the ship is wrecked in a sudden storm. The hero manages to swim ashore where he falls asleep on the beach. Here he is taken prisoner by the natives, short people, all of them. Of which book is this the beginning? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Which novel by Thomas Hardy begins with the hero selling his wife and daughter to a sailor who is on his way to Canada? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. A squire who lives in peaceful retirement in the county of Somersetshire returns home after having stayed for months in London. To his utter shock he finds a baby boy in his bed. Later his maiden sister Bridget turns out to be the mother. The foundling, after a whole lot of adventures, marries his heart's love, the girl next door, the neighbouring squire's daughter. Which book is meant? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. A squire, who suffers from gout, takes his doctor's advice to visit Bath for a cure. His maiden sister hopes to find a husband there. His niece Lydia is trying to forget the actor who she has been having an unlucky affair with. Her brother would like to avenge her. They meet the actor, but he is in disguise and only Lydia recognizes him. The novel is named after a servant they hire in the course of their story. Which book? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Father with five marriageable daughters and one rather silly wife hears about the arrival of a new neighbour. Some of the girls and the matchmaking mom start dreaming of the newcomer. At the next ball in the area one of the daughters falls in love with him. Another daughter is very much upset by the over-proud behaviour of the newcomer's friend. There is a happy end however: the two 'enemies' marry. Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. On a winter day in 1801 the tenant of a Northern England farm pays a visit to his landlord whom until then he never has seen. He is attacked by the dogs and the landlord himself hardly behaves any better. Tenant pays a second visit and hears about how the landlord at first was a 'filthy ragged dark-complexioned orphan'. Later he wins the heart of his stepfather's daughter, but not her hand. This leads to a whole series of cruel events,episodes of love, hatred and of revenge. Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Hero is an orphan boy educated by the village blacksmith. One day when wandering in the marshes, he meets a rather frightening stranger who turns out to be an escaped convict. Some time later the hero discovers that the convict has secretly been paying for his education and his career in life. Which book? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. A swineherd and a court jester misdirect an arrogant Norman baron and a fat,lazy abbot who are returning from a tournament,and are looking for the castle of a local lord, Cedric the Saxon. Time of action: the Crusades, during absence from England of Richard the Lion-Hearted. Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Story about a married man, with a good wife and six beautiful, healthy children. Alas his luck turns. The intended marriage between his oldest son and the neighbour's daughter is cancelled. His two daughters are lured away from home by the charms of London. The hero's house goes up in fire. In short, life is not a path of (prim)roses for him. What is the title of this novel, which after all ends well? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 23 2024 : Guest 194: 6/10
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Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. A nineteen-year-old youngster leaves the seaport town of Hull, and boards a vessel bound for London which gets into a storm. Later he boards an African trading vessel, which is attacked by Turkish buccaneers. They sell him into slavery. He manages to escape and is picked up by a Portuguese freighter bound for Brazil. That's by far not the end of his adventures yet. Ultimately everything ends well for him and he can return to good old England. In literature this character has become a kind of prototype of the 'white colonist'. Which of these books does this very brief summary refer to?

Answer: Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe' 1719

Fielding lived from 1707 till 1754. Smollet:1721-1771. Defoe: 1660-1731. Swift 1667-1745.
2. May 4, 1699: The story begins with a doctor who books a passage aboard a ship that leaves from Bristol for the South Seas. Northwest of Van Diemen's land, the ship is wrecked in a sudden storm. The hero manages to swim ashore where he falls asleep on the beach. Here he is taken prisoner by the natives, short people, all of them. Of which book is this the beginning?

Answer: 'Gulliver's Travels' 1726 by Jonathan Swift.

Four times the hero will land on a particularly 'strange island', every time a different one, but also every time a perfectly crazy one.
3. Which novel by Thomas Hardy begins with the hero selling his wife and daughter to a sailor who is on his way to Canada?

Answer: 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' 1886

Later the wife returns to her real husband. Her daughter has died, but in the meantime she has got a new daughter with the sailor who is her 'new owner'. Because of all the time that has elapsed the (tragic) hero of the story at first does not realise that the girl is not HIS offspring, but the wife prefers to let him believe that it's still the same child.

When the central character discovers the truth, he morally collapses.
4. A squire who lives in peaceful retirement in the county of Somersetshire returns home after having stayed for months in London. To his utter shock he finds a baby boy in his bed. Later his maiden sister Bridget turns out to be the mother. The foundling, after a whole lot of adventures, marries his heart's love, the girl next door, the neighbouring squire's daughter. Which book is meant?

Answer: 'Tom Jones' by Henry Fielding 1749

Eliot lived from 1819-1881. Fielding from 1707 till 1754.
5. A squire, who suffers from gout, takes his doctor's advice to visit Bath for a cure. His maiden sister hopes to find a husband there. His niece Lydia is trying to forget the actor who she has been having an unlucky affair with. Her brother would like to avenge her. They meet the actor, but he is in disguise and only Lydia recognizes him. The novel is named after a servant they hire in the course of their story. Which book?

Answer: Smollet's 'Humphrey Clinker' 1771

Sterne was born in 1713 and died in 1768. Dickens b.1812, died 1870. Maturin 1782 -1824. Smollett 1721-1771.
6. Father with five marriageable daughters and one rather silly wife hears about the arrival of a new neighbour. Some of the girls and the matchmaking mom start dreaming of the newcomer. At the next ball in the area one of the daughters falls in love with him. Another daughter is very much upset by the over-proud behaviour of the newcomer's friend. There is a happy end however: the two 'enemies' marry.

Answer: 'Pride And Prejudice' by Jane Austen 1813

Jane Austen lived from 1775 until 1817, George Meredith from 1828 until 1909, Elizabeth Gaskell from 1810 until 1865.
7. On a winter day in 1801 the tenant of a Northern England farm pays a visit to his landlord whom until then he never has seen. He is attacked by the dogs and the landlord himself hardly behaves any better. Tenant pays a second visit and hears about how the landlord at first was a 'filthy ragged dark-complexioned orphan'. Later he wins the heart of his stepfather's daughter, but not her hand. This leads to a whole series of cruel events,episodes of love, hatred and of revenge.

Answer: Emily Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights' 1847

Wilkie Collins: 1824-1889. George Eliot 1819-1880. Charlotte Bronte 1816-1855. Emily Bronte 1818-1848.
8. Hero is an orphan boy educated by the village blacksmith. One day when wandering in the marshes, he meets a rather frightening stranger who turns out to be an escaped convict. Some time later the hero discovers that the convict has secretly been paying for his education and his career in life. Which book?

Answer: 1860 'Great Expectations' by Dickens

Disraeli (1804-1881). Anne Bronte (1820-1849). Thackeray (1811-1863). Charles Dickens (1812-1870).
9. A swineherd and a court jester misdirect an arrogant Norman baron and a fat,lazy abbot who are returning from a tournament,and are looking for the castle of a local lord, Cedric the Saxon. Time of action: the Crusades, during absence from England of Richard the Lion-Hearted.

Answer: 'Ivanhoe' 1820

All historical novels by Sir Walter Scott.
10. Story about a married man, with a good wife and six beautiful, healthy children. Alas his luck turns. The intended marriage between his oldest son and the neighbour's daughter is cancelled. His two daughters are lured away from home by the charms of London. The hero's house goes up in fire. In short, life is not a path of (prim)roses for him. What is the title of this novel, which after all ends well?

Answer: 'Vicar of Wakefield' by Oliver Goldsmith 1766

Goldsmith (1730-1774). Dickens (1812-1870). Trollope (1815-1882). Eliot aka Marian Evans (1819-1880).
Source: Author flem-ish

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
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