There’s nothing like a set of literature trivia questions to test the bookworm in you. In this set of book trivia, we cover everything from Harry Potter books, Agatha Christie, Tom Sawyer, Shakespeare’s plays, and other famous novels.
Table of Contents
Literature Trivia
How much do you know about classic book titles from famous authors? Let’s see as you take these book quiz questions. So pick up a good book, start gearing up, and see how many points you can answer from this collection of pop to classic literature trivia.
Play Multiplayer Trivia Games with Your Team
Make your next meeting, team building, get-together, event, or class more fun with trivia games plus other fun and exciting team engagement tools to help build team connection!
Literature Trivia Questions and Answers
Click on the blurred area to reveal the answer.
Test it out. Click here to reveal the answer 👉 Awesome! You’re ready
| Who wrote the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, published in 1960? | ▶ Harper Lee |
| What phrase, often used in typing practice, includes every letter in the English alphabet? | ▶ The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. |
| Who is the author of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy? | ▶ J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Jules Verne’s fictional submarine the Nautilus is captained by which character? | ▶ Captain Nemo |
| Who wrote “The Little Mermaid”? | ▶ Hans Christian Andersen |
| Who wrote the novel “Moby-Dick”? | ▶ Herman Melville |
| The Artful Dodger is a character from which novel? | ▶ Oliver Twist |
| The Great Gatsby was written by which author? | ▶ F. Scott Fitzgerald |
| Diana Prince is the public persona of which fictional superhero? | ▶ Wonder Woman |
| Who wrote the fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling”? | ▶ Hans Christian Andersen |
| Who is the author of the book “A Brief History of Time”? | ▶ Stephen Hawking |
| Who wrote the 1936 novel “Gone with the Wind”? | ▶ Margaret Mitchell |
| What is the name of Washington Iriving’s 1819 short story about a man that fell asleep in the woods for 20 years? | ▶ Rip Van Winkle |
| Who was the author of “The Amityville Horror” published in 1977? | ▶ Jay Anson |
| Who declined the 1964 Nobel Prize for literature? | ▶ Jean-Paul Sartre |
| Cruella de Vil is a character who appeared in what novel by Dodie Smith? | ▶ The Hundred and One Dalmatians |
| Manga are a type of comics from what country? | ▶ Japan |
| Who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016? | ▶ Bob Dylan |
| Cogito ergo sum, “I think, therefore I am”, is a Latin phrase by which philospher? | ▶ René Descartes |
| What musical instrument did Sherlock Holmes play? | ▶ Violin |
| What was the full name of British novelist C. S. Lewis? | ▶ Clive Staples Lewis |
| Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero, what was the name of his horse? | ▶ Topper |
| According to Guiness World Records, which author has the most published works? | ▶ L. Ron Hubbard |
| Quasimodo is a fictional character from what novel? | ▶ The Hunchback of Notre-Dam |
| Who is the author of the novella “The Metamorphosis”, first published in 1915? | ▶ Franz Kafka |
| Which Irish author wrote the avant-garde comic fiction,”Finnegans Wake”? | ▶ James Joyce |
| “Being and Time” is an ontological treatise written by which German philosopher? | ▶ Martin Heidegger |
| War and Peace, originally published in 1869, is a novel written by which Russian author? | ▶ Leo Tolstoy |
| Which British author wrote the popular children’s novel “James and the Giant Peach”? | ▶ Roald Dahl |
| Who wrote the young adult vampire-romance novel “Twilight”? | ▶ Stephenie Meyer |
| Which American author wrote the novel “The Great Gatsby”, published in 1925? | ▶ F. Scott Fitzgerald |
| And to think I saw it on Mulberry Street was the first book published by which children’s author? | ▶ Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) |
| In Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, what’s Romeo’s last name? | ▶ Montague |
| Which American writer wrote the narrative poem “The Raven”? | ▶ Edgar Allan Poe |
| The novel Don Quixote was written by which famous Spanish novelist? | ▶ Miguel de Cervantes |
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a children’s book written by which American author? | ▶ Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) |
| The men’s magazine GQ was formerly known by what longer name? | ▶ Gentlemen’s Quarterly |
| Published in 1978, The World According To Garp was written by which American novelist? | ▶ John Irving |
| Who was the author of the children’s fantasy novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? | ▶ C.S. Lewis |
| “Call me Ishmael” is the opening line from what novel? | ▶ Moby Dick |
| Which American author wrote the non-fiction novel “In Cold Blood”? | ▶ Truman Capote |
| A Shakespearean sonnet consists of how many lines? | ▶ Fourteen |
| Which book holds the record of being the most stolen book from public libraries? | ▶ Guinness Book of World Records |
| First published in 1719, “Robinson Crusoe” is a novel written by which English writer? | ▶ Daniel Dafoe |
| The famous American writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens is better known by what pen name? | ▶ Mark Twain |
| In what Mark Twain novel does an engineer from Connecticut travel back in time to the age of Camelot? | ▶ A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court |
| Sydney Carton is the central character in what Charles Dickens novel? | ▶ A Tale of Two Cities |
| Daniel Peggotty is a character from which Charles Dickens novel published in 1850? | ▶ David Copperfield |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles is a crime novel featuring which fictional detective? | ▶ Sherlock Holmes |
| Who wrote the American realist novel “The Grapes of Wrath”? | ▶ John Steinbeck |
| In what city would you find the Wizard of Oz? | ▶ The Emerald City |
| The Scarlet Letter is a historical fiction novel written by which American author? | ▶ Nathaniel Hawthorne |
| In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, what was the name of the pig leader? | ▶ Napoleon |
| Published in 1906, White Fang is a novel about a wolf-dog written by which American author? | ▶ Jack London |
| In Frank Baum’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, on which the film is based, what color are Dorothy’s slippers? | ▶ Silver |
| Who created the comedy science fiction series, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”? | ▶ Douglas Adams |
| Oliver Twist was the second novel published by which English author? | ▶ Charles Dickens |
| Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience), is an 1849 essay written by which American author? | ▶ Henry David Thoreau |
| The fictional town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut is the setting for which book series by Ann M. Martin? | ▶ The Baby-Sitters Club |
| Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is a philosophical novel written by which German philosopher? | ▶ Friedrich Nietzsche |
| According to Forbes magazine in 2004, who was the first person to become a billionaire by writing books? | ▶ J.K. Rowling |
| Where would one arrive at the second star to the right, and straight on till morning? | ▶ Neverland |
| Released on April 5, 1974, what was Stephen King’s first published novel? | ▶ Carrie |
| Victorian writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne were sisters sharing what last name? | ▶ Brontë |
| Kiss Me Kate and 10 Things I Hate About You were both based on which Shakespeare comedy? | ▶ The Taming of the Shrew |
| Published in 2009, which American writer wrote the science fiction novel “Under the Dome”? | ▶ Stephen King |
| Robert Penn Warren received the 1947 pulitzer for what political fiction novel? | ▶ All the King’s Men |
| Shōgun is a 1975 novel written by which Australian novelist? | ▶ James Clavell |
| What is the name for a compound literary or narrative work that is divided into five parts? | ▶ Pentalogy |
| The Importance of Being Earnest is a play written by which Irish poet and playwright? | ▶ Oscar Wilde |
| In the American comic strip Little Orphan Annie, what is the name of Annie’s dog? | ▶ Sandy |
| Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a story about the life of what teenage protagonist? | ▶ Holden Caulfield |
| American writer Daniel Keyes wrote what science fiction novel that was later adapted to the Academy Award-winning film Charly? | ▶ Flowers for Algernon |
| Published in 2006, The God Delusion is a book written by which English biologist? | ▶ Richard Dawkins |
| In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s historical fition novel “The Scarlet Letter”, what was the letter? | ▶ “A” stands for adulteress |
| The epic poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, was written by which English poet? | ▶ Samuel Taylor Coleridge |
| Mark Twain’s 1885 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was set along which river? | ▶ Mississippi River |
| Stag Party was the name originally chosen for what popular men’s magazine? | ▶ Playboy |
| Published in 2005, The Book Thief is a historical novel by which Australian author? | ▶ Markus Zusak |
| Who was the first man to appear solo on the cover of Playboy? | ▶ Hugh Hefner (after his death) |
| First published in 1988, The Alchemist is a best-selling novel by what Brazilian author? | ▶ Paulo Coelho |
| Mac Gargan is the alter ego of what Spider-Man villain? | ▶ Scorpion |
| In L. Frank Baum’s original 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, what color were Dorothy’s shoes? | ▶ Silver |
| The tormented love story, “Wuthering Heights”, is the only finished novel by which English writer? | ▶ Emily Brontë |
| What Danish author is considered by many to be the most prolific fairy tale writer? | ▶ Hans Christian Andersen |
| The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 satirical novel by which American author and journalist? | ▶ Tom Wolfe |
| Seen as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a poem by which late American-British poet? | ▶ T. S. Eliot |
| First published in 1842, “The Masque of the Red Death” is a short story by which American writer? | ▶ Edgar Allan Poe |
| The Communist Manifesto was written by which two German philosophers? | ▶ Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels |
| What character is murdered by George in the John Steinbeck novella “Of Mice and Men”? | ▶ Lennie |
| The writer Eric Blair went by what pen name? | ▶ George Orwell |
| What are the first three words of the bible? | ▶ In the beginning |
| Who wrote an ancient Chinese military treatise known as “The Art of War”? | ▶ Sun Tzu |
| What is the plural of the word crisis? | ▶ Crises |
| Which book was famously rejected by 12 publishers before finally being accepted by Bloomsbury? | ▶ Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone |
| What is the first book of the bible? | ▶ Genisis |
| What are the four houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? | ▶ Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, & Slytherin |
| In the children’s books about a 25 foot tall red dog, what is the name of the dog? | ▶ Clifford |
| In the Harry Potter series, what is the name of Harry’s pet owl? | ▶ Hedwig |
| What is the secret identity of the fictional superhero Batman? | ▶ Bruce Wayne |
| The Punisher is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by which company? | ▶ Marvel Comics |
| What is the seventh and final novel of the Harry Potter series? | ▶ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows |
| What American minister and author wrote the self-help book The Power of Positive Thinking? | ▶ Norman Vincent Peale |
About the Author
Tim majored in Humanities with a bachelor in English and Theatre at New York State University. He lectured on entertainment business studies for three years at Plymouth College.
Tim has been a trivia host in his current hometown of Pittsburgh for the past two years. He enjoys hanging out with people who love trivia just as much as he does.
His friends call him the Question Master.
