Famous first lines, beloved characters, and the authors behind them. Great for book clubs and English class review.
Updated October 9, 2026
Literature Trivia
Twenty original literature questions from Shakespeare to modern dystopias. Play in quiz mode with answers, explanations, and score tracking.
Question 1. Who wrote Romeo and Juliet?
Answer: William Shakespeare
Shakespeare wrote the tragedy around 1595.
Question 2. Which novel opens with the line Call me Ishmael?
Answer: Moby-Dick
Herman Melville published Moby-Dick in 1851.
Question 3. Who wrote the Harry Potter series?
Answer: J.K. Rowling
The series spans seven books published from 1997 to 2007.
Question 4. What is the wizard's name in The Lord of the Rings?
Answer: Gandalf
Gandalf the Grey returns as Gandalf the White.
Question 5. Who wrote Pride and Prejudice?
Answer: Jane Austen
Austen published the novel in 1813.
Question 6. Which author created Sherlock Holmes?
Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle
Holmes first appeared in print in 1887.
Question 7. Which dystopian novel features Big Brother?
Answer: Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell published it in 1949.
Question 8. Who wrote The Great Gatsby?
Answer: F. Scott Fitzgerald
The novel was published in 1925.
Question 9. Which children's book features a very hungry insect?
Answer: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle published it in 1969.
Question 10. Who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird?
Answer: Harper Lee
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961.
Question 11. What is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?
Answer: Through the Looking-Glass
Lewis Carroll published it in 1871.
Question 12. Which epic poem begins Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles?
Answer: The Iliad
Homer's Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War.
Question 13. Who wrote Frankenstein?
Answer: Mary Shelley
Shelley wrote it at age 18; it was published in 1818.
Question 14. Who wrote The Old Man and the Sea?
Answer: Ernest Hemingway
The novella won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953.
Question 15. Which play contains the line To be, or not to be?
Answer: Hamlet
Hamlet speaks the famous soliloquy in Act 3.
Question 16. Who wrote The Odyssey?
Answer: Homer
The Odyssey follows Odysseus's long journey home from Troy.
Question 17. What is the first book of the Bible?
Answer: Genesis
Genesis tells the creation story.
Question 18. Who wrote The Tell-Tale Heart?
Answer: Edgar Allan Poe
Poe published the short story in 1843.
Question 19. Who wrote Little Women?
Answer: Louisa May Alcott
The novel was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869.
Question 20. Which novel is about a fireman who burns books?
Answer: Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury published the dystopia in 1953.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play the quiz?
Read each question, say your answer out loud, then press Reveal answer. Mark whether you got it right and move to the next question. Your score is tracked to the end.
What kinds of books are covered?
Classics, children's books, plays, poetry, and modern bestsellers, from Shakespeare and Homer to contemporary novels.
How many questions are in this quiz?
20, each with an answer and a one-line explanation.
Can I reuse these questions?
Yes. All questions are original and free to use for quizzes, classrooms, and trivia nights.