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.
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Question of
1870 – Dickens’ novel, unfinished at the time of his death is called The Mystery of Edwin Drood. What is the mystery?
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Drood’s disappearance
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Drood’s parentage
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Question of
1870 – ‘And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand/They danced by the light of the moon/The moon/The moon/They danced by the light of the moon.’ Who did?
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The Owl and the Pussycat
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The Walrus and the Carpenter
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Question of
1871 – Which huge Eliot novel has the feisty women, Dorothea Brooke, Rosamond Vincy and Mary Garth, as three of the central characters?
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Middlemarch
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Daniel Deronda
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Question of
1871 – Which of Charles Darwin’s revolutionary works was published in this year?
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The Descent of Man
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The Origins of the Species
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Question of
1872 – Finish the title of Turgenev’s famous play first performed in this year: A Month in the —
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Country
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City
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Question of
1872 – In What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge, how does Katy seriously injure herself?
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On a broken swing
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Falls from a tree
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Question of
1873 – ‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ From which great Russian novel is this famous opening line?
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Anna Karenina
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Crime and Punishment
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Question of
1873 – What change was made to typewriters that hugely increased their reliability?
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Qwerty keyboard
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Removable ribbon
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Question of
1874 – Finish the title of Hardy’s famous novel: Far From the — Crowd
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Madding
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Maddening
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Question of
1874 – Verne’s The Mysterious Island is set during which major historical event?
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American Civil War
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French Revolution
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Question of
1875 – Which play opens in both London and New York and goes on to become the world’s longest running play with over 1,350 performances over the next 4 years?
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Our Boys
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Charley’s Aunt
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Question of
1875 – Which American novelist wrote Eight Cousins about a lonely orphan, Rose Campbell?
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Louisa May Alcott
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Edith Wharton
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Question of
1876 – Why is Eliot’s final completed novel, Daniel Deronda, unique amongst her works?
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Contemporary setting
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First person narrator
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Question of
1876 – What relation is Sid to Tom Sawyer?
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Half brother
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Cousin
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Question of
1877 – In Henry James’ novel The American, why is Christopher Newman visiting Europe?
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On a ‘grand tour’
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On business
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Question of
1877 – Which novel, teaching animal welfare and how to treat people with kindness and respect, has become one of the best selling books of all time?
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Black Beauty
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Wind in the Willows
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Question of
1878 – What key was added to the typewriter’s keyboard?
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Shift
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Tab
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Question of
1878 – Why did Hardy’s Return of the Native cause controversy?
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Out of marriage sex
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Atheism
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Question of
1879 – Ibsen’s play of feminist awakening is premiered in Copenhagen. Which play is it?
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A Doll’s House
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Hedda Gabler
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Question of
1879 – ‘Mistrust all enterprises that require new clothes.’ Which great British writer was born in London on January 1st?
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EM Forster
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TS Eliot
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