Book Quiz with 10 questions about Author

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Books Quiz - Author - J R R Tolkien (Questions)

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892 to British parents. The family moved back to its native city of Birmingham following the death of Tolkien’s father in 1896. His new surroundings were a great influence on the future author and provided the inspiration for Hobbiton and the Shire.

Tolkien’s mother died when he was 16 years old and he was subsequently brought up by a Catholic priest, growing up to be devoutly religious. He served as a lieutenant in World War One, then pursued an academic career after the war’s end, eventually becoming Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University. Here he befriended CS Lewis, the author of the Narnia books.

Tolkien wrote stories to amuse his four children. One of these, The Hobbit, was published in 1936. This was very popular and spawned the sequel The Lord of the Rings, published 18 years later. He died in 1973, an academic most famous for his works of fantasy.

In which country was Tolkien born?

[ ]	Canada
[ ]	New Zealand
[ ]	Norway
[ ]	South Africa

The Misty Mountains, part of his fantasy world Middle Earth, were based on Tolkien's 1911 holiday in which country?

[ ]	Austria
[ ]	Italy
[ ]	Germany
[ ]	Switzerland

Who is the hero of the 1937 story The Hobbit?

[ ]	Balbo Baggins
[ ]	Balbo Biggins
[ ]	Bilbo Baggins
[ ]	Bilbo Biggins

Published in 1954, what is the title of the first volume in The Lord of the Rings trilogy?

[ ]	The Brotherhood of the Ring
[ ]	The Fellowship of the Ring
[ ]	The Return of the Ring
[ ]	The Secret of the Ring

Who directed the three Lord of the Rings films, made between 2001 and 2003?

[ ]	James Cameron
[ ]	Jonathan Demme
[ ]	Peter Jackson
[ ]	Sam Mendes

What is the name of the wizard who appears in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings?

[ ]	Gandalf
[ ]	Gollum
[ ]	Grendel
[ ]	Grundel

In the Middle Earth universe, what is the name of the volcano in Mordor, the dwelling place of Sauron?

[ ]	Mount Death
[ ]	Mount Desolation
[ ]	Mount Despair
[ ]	Mount Doom

What is the first name of Tolkien's son, who edited and published The Silmarillion after his father's death?

[ ]	Christian
[ ]	Christopher
[ ]	Clement
[ ]	Conrad

In The Hobbit, what type of creature is Smaug?

[ ]	A dragon
[ ]	An elf
[ ]	A goblin
[ ]	A troll

10.

What is the name of the painter who appears in Tolkien's 1964 book Tree and Leaf?

[ ]	Naggle
[ ]	Niggle
[ ]	Noggle
[ ]	Nuggle

Books Quiz - Author - J R R Tolkien (Answers)

In which country was Tolkien born?

[ ]	Canada
[ ]	New Zealand
[ ]	Norway
[x]	South Africa

He was born in Bloemfontein in 1892

The Misty Mountains, part of his fantasy world Middle Earth, were based on Tolkien's 1911 holiday in which country?

[ ]	Austria
[ ]	Italy
[ ]	Germany
[x]	Switzerland

In a letter he wrote 57 years later, Tolkien says that the journey across the Misty Mountains described in The Hobbit is directly based on his own adventures as he hiked from the town of Interlaken to the village of Lauterbrunnen

Who is the hero of the 1937 story The Hobbit?

[ ]	Balbo Baggins
[ ]	Balbo Biggins
[x]	Bilbo Baggins
[ ]	Bilbo Biggins

Bilbo was the uncle, the first cousin and the second cousin of Frodo Baggins, the hero of The Lord of the Rings

Published in 1954, what is the title of the first volume in The Lord of the Rings trilogy?

[ ]	The Brotherhood of the Ring
[x]	The Fellowship of the Ring
[ ]	The Return of the Ring
[ ]	The Secret of the Ring

Tolkien had wanted The Lord of the Rings to be published as one volume but a shortage of paper after World War Two meant that it had to be split into three parts

Who directed the three Lord of the Rings films, made between 2001 and 2003?

[ ]	James Cameron
[ ]	Jonathan Demme
[x]	Peter Jackson
[ ]	Sam Mendes

Jackson made many changes to the story. Much is condensed and a very large amount is left out whilst some new material, not found in Tolkien's book, is added

What is the name of the wizard who appears in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings?

[x]	Gandalf
[ ]	Gollum
[ ]	Grendel
[ ]	Grundel

Gandalf the Grey is one of the five wizards sent to Middle Earth by the Valar, along with Saruman the White, Radagast the Brown and the two Blue wizards whose names are unknown

In the Middle Earth universe, what is the name of the volcano in Mordor, the dwelling place of Sauron?

[ ]	Mount Death
[ ]	Mount Desolation
[ ]	Mount Despair
[x]	Mount Doom

It's where Sauron forged the One Ring

What is the first name of Tolkien's son, who edited and published The Silmarillion after his father's death?

[ ]	Christian
[x]	Christopher
[ ]	Clement
[ ]	Conrad

Tolkien had four children, John, Michael, Christopher and Priscilla

In The Hobbit, what type of creature is Smaug?

[x]	A dragon
[ ]	An elf
[ ]	A goblin
[ ]	A troll

He's one of the last great dragons of Middle Earth

10.

What is the name of the painter who appears in Tolkien's 1964 book Tree and Leaf?

[ ]	Naggle
[x]	Niggle
[ ]	Noggle
[ ]	Nuggle

In the story Niggle becomes so attentive of one of his paintings, begun merely to please himself, that his other works suffer. Some see this as reminiscent of Tolkien's Middle Earth mythology which was created for his own pleasure but grew to epic proportions and contained amazing attention to detail