Literature Trivia Questions
- According to a popular but likely incorrect theory, which fairy tale character's slippers were originally made of fur ('vair' in French) rather than glass ('verre')?
- According to Guinness World Records, what is the longest novel ever written, consisting of seven volumes and over 1.2 million words?
- Alex Cross, a widowed father and forensic psychologist who works for the Metropolitan Police Department, is the protagonist of a long-running thriller series by which author?
- Forks, Washington, is the primary setting for which 2005 Stephenie Meyer novel about the romance between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen?
- Gabriel García Márquez is a Nobel Prize-winning author from which country?
- In 1945, which Chilean poet became the first Latin American author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature?
- In a 1719 novel by Daniel Defoe, what is the title character's name who befriends a native man he calls Friday after being shipwrecked?
- In a short story by Washington Irving, what character falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains for twenty years, waking to find he has missed the American Revolution?
- In Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World', what is the name of the unified global government that serves as the setting?
- In Betty Smith’s 1943 novel "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," what is the name of the young protagonist who comes of age in a Williamsburg tenement?
- In Dante's 'Divine Comedy', who guides the narrator through Hell and Purgatory?
- In drama, what is the term for a speech delivered by a character alone on stage to reveal their inner thoughts?
- In Franz Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis', what animal does Gregor Samsa turn into?
- In George Orwell's '1984', what is the name of the omnipresent leader of Oceania?
- In George Orwell's '1984', what is the name of the province where the story takes place?
- In Greek mythology, who was the greatest warrior of Troy, a son of King Priam who was eventually killed in single combat by Achilles?
- In J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', what is the name of the volcano where the One Ring was forged?
- In Joseph Heller's satirical 1961 novel Catch-22, what is the name of the U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier who serves as the protagonist?
- In 'Moby-Dick', what is the name of the ship's captain?
- In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, what is the name of the protagonist forced to wear a red 'A' as a symbol of her adultery?
- In 'The Chronicles of Narnia,' what is the name of the great lion?
- In 'The Chronicles of Narnia', who is the creator of Narnia?
- In 'The Great Gatsby,' in which fictional village on Long Island does Jay Gatsby live?
- In 'The Great Gatsby', what is the first name of the title character?
- In 'The Great Gatsby', who is the narrator?
- In the 'Harry Potter' series, what is the name of the British wizarding school attended by the protagonists?
- In 'The Hobbit', what is the name of the creature from whom Bilbo Baggins obtains the One Ring?
- In 'The Hobbit', what kind of creature is Smaug?
- In 'The Lord of the Flies', what object is used to determine who has the right to speak?
- In 'The Lord of the Rings', which character is in possession of the 'One Ring' at the very beginning of 'The Fellowship of the Ring'?
- In the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, who is the pragmatic, donkey-riding squire who accompanies the knight Don Quixote?
- In the novel 'Jane Eyre,' what is the name of the 'madwoman in the attic' who is revealed to be Edward Rochester's first wife?
- In 'The Odyssey', who is the wife of Odysseus?
- In the poem 'The Waste Land', which month is described as 'the cruelest month'?
- In the title of a famous 1841 mystery by Edgar Allan Poe, on what fictional Parisian street do the central murders occur?
- In Toni Morrison's 1977 novel Song of Solomon, what is the nickname of the protagonist, Macon Dead III, who travels south to uncover his family's history?
- In what 1842 Nikolai Gogol novel does the protagonist Chichikov travel across the Russian countryside to purchase the names of deceased serfs from landowners?
- In what year was the first part of Miguel de Cervantes' 'Don Quixote' published?
- In which 1898 H.G. Wells novel is Earth invaded by Martians who utilize heat-rays and giant tripod fighting machines?
- In which 1929 extended essay does Virginia Woolf argue that a woman must have money and a space of her own to write fiction?
- In which 1952 Ernest Hemingway novella does a Cuban fisherman named Santiago battle a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream?
- In which 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel does the character Atticus Finch defend Tom Robinson?
- In which 2010 dystopian young adult novel by Ally Condie does the protagonist Cassia Maria Reyes live in a world where the 'Society' chooses her life partner?
- In which city is 'The Catcher in the Rye' set?
- In which city is the novel 'Les Misérables' primarily set?
- In which city is William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' set?
- In which decade was Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' published?
- In which fictional land is the Emerald City located?
- In which foundational work of American nature writing does Henry David Thoreau recount his two-year experiment in simple living at a pond near Concord, Massachusetts?
- In which novel do we find the characters Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy?