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Quiz – Literary Events Timeline (19) 1980-1989

A new series beginning in 1800.
Beginning in the early years of the novel – as we know and love it – each quiz covers a decade of literary events – 2 questions per year. Births, deaths, publications, events; fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays and books for children.

  • Question of

    1980 – David Edgar’s 9 hour adaptation of which Dickens’ novel opened in London?

    • Nicholas Nickleby
    • Little Dorrit
  • Question of

    1980 – Which scientist wrote the bestselling A Brief History of Time aimed specifically at non-scientists?

    • Stephen Hawking
    • Carl Sagan
  • Question of

    1981 – Robert Harris’ Red Dragon introduced the world to Dr Hannibal Lecter. What is he a doctor of?

    • Psychiatry
    • Forensics
  • Question of

    1981 – Which game, invented by Chris Van Allsburg, has this warning on it: ‘Do not begin unless you intend to finish.’

    • Jumanji
    • Zathura
  • Question of

    1982 – Keneally’s prize winning Schindler’s Ark was published in this year. What is Schindler’s first name?

    • Oskar
    • Theo
  • Question of

    1982 – Frayn’s much loved farce, Noises Off, is set where?

    • In a theatre
    • In a country house
  • Question of

    1983 – In Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic what creatures are holding up the flat disc of the planet while standing on the shell of a giant sea turtle?

    • Elephants
    • Orangutans
  • Question of

    1983 – What aid to writing was introduced in this year?

    • Microsoft Word
    • Novell WordPerfect
  • Question of

    1984 – Whose debut novel was The Hunt for Red October?

    • Tom Clancy
    • Frederick Forsyth
  • Question of

    1984 – How many years is it since Orwell’s 1984 was published?

    • 35
    • 39
  • Question of

    1985 – In The Handmaid’s Tale how do Offred and Moira know each other?

    • College friends
    • Work colleagues
  • Question of

    1985 – Christopher Hampton’s award winning adaptation of which French novel from 1782 exploded onto the stage this year?

    • Les Liaisons Dangereuses
    • Candide
  • Question of

    1986 – If you are in Derry, Maine and having to deal with a character called Pennywise, which Stephen King novel are you reading?

    • It
    • The Stand
  • Question of

    1986 – Where does Russell’s Shirley Valentine travel to in order to find her true self?

    • Greece
    • Italy
  • Question of

    1987 – In King’s Misery what does Paul use to kill Annie?

    • A typewriter
    • A chainsaw
  • Question of

    1987 – Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities was published in 27 instalments in which magazine?

    • Rolling Stone
    • The New Yorker
  • Question of

    1988 – For which of her novels did Toni Morrison win the Pulitzer Prize in this year?

    • Beloved
    • Jazz
  • Question of

    1988 – In Rusdie’s The Satanic Verses what profession are the two protagonists, Gibreel and Saladin?

    • Actors
    • Writers
  • Question of

    1989 – Where does Laura Esquivel, the author of Like Water for Chocolate, come from?

    • Mexico
    • Cuba
  • Question of

    1989 – Martin Amis’ London Fields is set in which year in the future?

    • 1999
    • 2000

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