Bookquiz

Lizzykins

I think Wessex is Thomas Hardy and Barchester is Anthony Trollope but the others are a mystery!

randomguy

Wessex - Thomas Hardy set all of his novels, including Jude the Obscure, here - it is a real area in the south of England, but isn't really a County. He also invented names for cities in the area (eg Casterbridge for Dorchester, Melchester for Salisbury).

Castle Rock - Stephen King set most of his early novels in or around Castle Rock, Maine. (including Cufo and the novella The Body, which became the film Stand by Me).

Haddam, New Jersey - Richard Ford has Frank Bascombe residing there in The Sportswriter and Independence Day. In the third book of the trilogy, The Lay of the Land, he goes back to visit it I think.

Deptford - The Deptford trilogy is the masterpiece of Robertson Davies, Canada's best writer. Fifth Business, the first book of the trilogy, is highly-recommended.

Monument is Waterford as re-imagined by Peter Cunningham, an often overlooked irish writer - (Tapes of the River Delta, Consequences of The Heart and Love in One Edition make up the Monument trilogy)

Barchester in Barsetshire - Anthony Trollope invented this city and set his Chronicles of Barsetshire there, including Dr Thorne and Barchester Towers.

Oceania - In George Orwell's 1984, Winston Smith lives in London in the superstate of Oceania.


Macondo - Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude all takes place in this one town - I thought someone would get this because it is a common name for trendy restaurants in Latin America.

Rummidge - David Lodge re-invented Birmingham as Rummidge in a lot of his novels.

Ballybeg - Brian Friel set most of his plays here. Gar is leaving Ballybeg in Philadelpia Here I Come. Translations and Dancing at Lughnasa are set here as well.

Coketown - fictional grim northern city setting for Dickens' Hard Times.

randomguy

Another question:

Name the anglo-irish author who wrote a classic spy novel about Germany invading Britain (and said he wrote it out of an Englishman's "natural sense of duty" to his country and empire), then used his famous boat to run arms into Dublin for the Irish Volunteers, helped out Sinn Fein, hung out with Michael Collins but was shot by the Irish Free State forces when he took Dev's side in the Civil War.

His novel is still considered the archetypal English spy novel.

Denerick

randomguy wrote: »

Another question:

Name the anglo-irish author who wrote a classic spy novel about Germany invading Britain (and said he wrote it out of an Englishman's "natural sense of duty" to his country and empire), then used his famous boat to run arms into Dublin for the Irish Volunteers, helped out Sinn Fein, hung out with Michael Collins but was shot by the Irish Free State forces when he took Dev's side in the Civil War.

His novel is still considered the archetypal English spy novel.

Erskine Childers!

(Self appointed history buff )

randomguy

Denerick wrote: »

Erskine Childers!

(Self appointed history buff )

That's him. Over to you. Try to make it ungoogleable...

Denerick

randomguy wrote: »

That's him. Over to you. Try to make it ungoogleable...

I didn't google that, it was the only question on this so far I've been able to answer.

Alright, here's an easy one which is googleable but please don't do that everyone... thats a bit pointless.

Who was the first American author to win the nobel prize for literature?

randomguy

Denerick wrote: »

I didn't google that, it was the only question on this so far I've been able to answer.

Wasn't suggesting you did at all. It's just that i've been trying to make my questions really hard to google so no-one would be tempted.

Denerick wrote: »

Who was the first American author to win the nobel prize for literature?

I've been wracking my brain and not getting anywhere. Hemingway was post WW2. F Scott Fitzgerald didn't get one, did he? Faulkner maybe? Or a playwright - Eugene O'Neill won one but i've no idea if that is 30s, 40s or 50s? When you say first american author, does it mean it's not a poet or playwright?

Denerick

[quote=randomguy;60387290
I've been wracking my brain and not getting anywhere. Hemingway was post WW2. F Scott Fitzgerald didn't get one, did he? Faulkner maybe? Or a playwright - Eugene O'Neill won one but i've no idea if that is 30s, 40s or 50s? When you say first american author, does it mean it's not a poet or playwright?[/quote]

I'll give you a hint; They are all good guesses and by rights all of them probably should have got one at this stage. The author is a novelist, and was known then as one of the foremost social satirists of the day. And no, it isn't Mark Twain

Denerick

Very tempted to come out and say it because its someone I wouldn't have guessed of in a million years. I've only read one of his books and I across the snippet of information somewhat by accident. Some more hints maybe...

'Roaring Twenties' author
Critical of the American Dream
Writes in a breezy, character driven style

godspal

Sinclair Louis, I think.

Why did Samuel Beckett refuse to accept his Nobel Prize?

Denerick

godspal wrote: »

Sinclair Louis, I think.

Why did Samuel Beckett refuse to accept his Nobel Prize?

It was indeed Sinclair Lewis...

I wasn't aware he had rejected it though I know he was uneasy about accepting it, something to do with the fame that would follow. Not sure though.

godspal

Denerick wrote: »

It was indeed Sinclair Lewis...

I wasn't aware he had rejected it though I know he was uneasy about accepting it, something to do with the fame that would follow. Not sure though.

sorry your right, a bit of confusion there... he felt indebted to Joyce and made a big deal about him not getting the prize himself, however he still accepted! WHOOPS!

okay, okay...
A new question then, who helped T.S. Eliot write/edit The Wasteland?

godspal

godspal wrote: »

sorry your right, a bit of confusion there... he felt indebted to Joyce and made a big deal about him not getting the prize himself, however he still accepted! WHOOPS!

okay, okay...
A new question then, who helped T.S. Eliot write/edit The Wasteland?

It wasn't Erza Pound, no?

In War and Peace, in whose house was Natasha staying in when Anatole Kuragin had arranged to "kidnap" her and elope?

randomguy

-JammyDodger- wrote: »

In War and Peace, in whose house was Natasha staying in when Anatole Kuragin had arranged to "kidnap" her and elope?

No offence, but that's a pretty crap question. On the other hand, the question above (from Denerick i think) about the first American to get the Nobel prize for literature, was really good.

The difference? In yours, only someone who has read War and Peace would even have a chance of knowing it. And even amongst people who have read it, you are asking if they can remember something obscure rather than asking for something that they are likely to remember (and that's not only because I read it 15 years ago and haven't got a clue). Unless there is some huge significance to who it is (ie it's Napoleon's House, or the Tsar's house) it can't be guessed, and probably won't be remembered.

An ideal question is of interest to most people, can at least be guessed at by most people, but will only be known by a few people. A crap question is one where only very few people can even make a stab at it. You want everyone almost getting it.

A decent enough question:
Who is the only person to have won both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize for literature?

Another ok question:
What film, based on a very famous book, is the longest film to have won an Oscar?

I forgot I had posted in this thread.

Yah, you're right. It's an absolutely terrible question; it's far too specific. I guess I tried to take the notion of ungoogleability too far.

Here, this might be better:

Which (very famous) book ends in the lines:

"They hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow,
Through Eden took their solitary way."

(P.S. the answer to your second question is War and Peace I think. I don't know about the first though).

randomguy

-JammyDodger- wrote: »

(P.S. the answer to your second question is War and Peace I think. I don't know about the first though).

Yeah, you're right, War and Peace again. A slightly tricky question, because a lot of people think it is Gone with the Wind, also based on a famous book, but that is only the longest film to win the Best Picture Oscar. And people might think it is The Greatest Story Ever Told, which is based on a famous book (The Bible) and was originally longer than either of these i think, but it didn't win any Oscars.

You've got me on the quote, though. Good question.

Denerick

"They hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow,
Through Eden took their solitary way."

Milton, Paradise Lost. Just after finishing it

Please put the following combination of ideologies Conor Cruise O' Brien embraced in certain stages of his life, in order of the date of his publications. (I'm alphabetizing them here, just for the sake of argument)

Socialism, Unionism, Zionism.

(This is either a boring or an easy question, but I can't think of a better one...)

turgon

Socialism then Zionism then Unionism??

Ok, a really easy one to get this restarted:
Name the two authors that fought in the Spanish Civil War and that subsequently published books based on it. Extra points: name the books.

godspal

Ernest Hemmingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls
George Orwell - I don't the name of the book... soemthing about.

McCarthism, the Ambassador, Viz comics and Some Like it Hot. All of these things are connected together in some way by one American literary figure, name that figure.

Once again extra points for figuring out how this figure is connected to them.

turgon

Correct on both counts; Orwell's book is Homage to Catalonia.

I dont have a clue about your question :pac:

TedB

Orwell's book was Homage to Catalonia.

Laurie Lee also wrote a decent book based on his experiences 'A Moment of War'.

turgon

turgon wrote: »

Orwell's book is Homage to Catalonia.

TedB wrote: »

Orwell's book was Homage to Catalonia.

Great minds and all that

Earthhorse

randomguy wrote: »

A decent enough question:
Who is the only person to have won both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize for literature?

George Bernard Shaw

TedB

turgon wrote: »

Great minds and all that

LOL! Exactly the same time and all...