Logo

Books Quiz - Fictional Characters 3 (Questions)

Most stories contain two main characters – the protagonist and the antagonist. The protagonist is the character who the reader feels the most empathy with. His story is told by the narrator who could be the protagonist themselves, or a different character, or even a disembodied voice. The antagonist is a character who opposes the protagonist. Antagonists can come in many forms. In some stories the antagonist could be a concept rather than a person (the ocean, a jungle or a business for example), and is basically anything with which the protagonist must ‘fight’.

This is the third in our series of four quizzes on fictional characters. Maybe the characters in Shakespeare and Robert Louis Stevenson will give you few problems but how much do you know about the people portrayed by Evelyn Waugh, Larry McMurtry and Frances Hodgson Burnett? Find out by playing this fun quiz which has questions on works as varied as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Little Lord Fauntleroy!

1. What is the name of the disreputable socialite who appears in the Evelyn Waugh novels Black Mischief and Put Out More Flags?
[ ] Basil Salt
[ ] Basil Seal
[ ] Basil Silt
[ ] Basil Sole
2. John Buchan's novel The Thirty-nine Steps opens with the hero, Richard Hannay, having just returned to London from where?
[ ] Rhodesia
[ ] Romania
[ ] Russia
[ ] Rwanda
3. In the Muriel Spark novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, what is the name of the art teacher with whom she's in love?
[ ] Mr Lane
[ ] Mr Lee
[ ] Mr Lloyd
[ ] Mr Lowe
4. What is the real name of the title character in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Master of Ballantrae?
[ ] James Doohan
[ ] James Doolan
[ ] James Dooley
[ ] James Durie
5. In Larry McMurtry's 1985 novel Lonesome Dove, what is the name of the former Texas Ranger turned cattleman?
[ ] Gus McCall
[ ] Gus McCann
[ ] Gus McCoy
[ ] Gus McCrae
6. What is the name of the anti-hero in Alan Sillitoe's 1958 novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning?
[ ] Arthur Beaton
[ ] Arthur Heaton
[ ] Arthur Keaton
[ ] Arthur Seaton
7. What is the favourite watering hole of the Shakespeare character, the fat knight Sir John Falstaff?
[ ] The Boar's Head
[ ] The King's Head
[ ] The Queen's Head
[ ] The Turk's Head
8. In Irvine Welsh's 1993 novel Trainspotting, what is the nickname of the character Simon Williamson?
[ ] Sick Boy
[ ] Sick Head
[ ] Sick Note
[ ] Sick Pay
9. In Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1886 novel Little Lord Fauntleroy, what does the title character call his mother?
[ ] Darling
[ ] Dearest
[ ] Mimsy
[ ] Momsy
10. What is the first name of the title character in Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway?
[ ] Clara
[ ] Clarabelle
[ ] Clarissa
[ ] Clementine

 

Logo
Books Quiz - Fictional Characters 3 (Answers)
1. What is the name of the disreputable socialite who appears in the Evelyn Waugh novels Black Mischief and Put Out More Flags?
[ ] Basil Salt
[x] Basil Seal
[ ] Basil Silt
[ ] Basil Sole
Put Out More Flags is dedicated to Randolph Churchill who recruited Waugh for a military mission to Yugoslavia
2. John Buchan's novel The Thirty-nine Steps opens with the hero, Richard Hannay, having just returned to London from where?
[x] Rhodesia
[ ] Romania
[ ] Russia
[ ] Rwanda
Hannay appears in 7 novels: The Thirty-Nine Steps, Greenmantle, Mr Standfast, The Three Hostages, The Island of Sheep, The Courts of the Morning and Sick Heart River
3. In the Muriel Spark novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, what is the name of the art teacher with whom she's in love?
[ ] Mr Lane
[ ] Mr Lee
[x] Mr Lloyd
[ ] Mr Lowe
In 2008, the Times newspaper named Muriel Spark as the 8th greatest British writer since 1945
4. What is the real name of the title character in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Master of Ballantrae?
[ ] James Doohan
[ ] James Doolan
[ ] James Dooley
[x] James Durie
The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale is the story of two Scottish noblemen, brothers torn apart by the Jacobite rebellion of 1745
5. In Larry McMurtry's 1985 novel Lonesome Dove, what is the name of the former Texas Ranger turned cattleman?
[ ] Gus McCall
[ ] Gus McCann
[ ] Gus McCoy
[x] Gus McCrae
His partner is Woodrow F Call
6. What is the name of the anti-hero in Alan Sillitoe's 1958 novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning?
[ ] Arthur Beaton
[ ] Arthur Heaton
[ ] Arthur Keaton
[x] Arthur Seaton
Albert Finney played the part in the 1960 film adaptation
7. What is the favourite watering hole of the Shakespeare character, the fat knight Sir John Falstaff?
[x] The Boar's Head
[ ] The King's Head
[ ] The Queen's Head
[ ] The Turk's Head
He appears in Henry IV parts 1 and 2, and also The Merry Wives of Windsor
8. In Irvine Welsh's 1993 novel Trainspotting, what is the nickname of the character Simon Williamson?
[x] Sick Boy
[ ] Sick Head
[ ] Sick Note
[ ] Sick Pay
Other characters in the book include Spud, Franco and Second Prize
9. In Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1886 novel Little Lord Fauntleroy, what does the title character call his mother?
[ ] Darling
[x] Dearest
[ ] Mimsy
[ ] Momsy
The book tells the story of an American boy who becomes the heir to an English earldom and a vast estate
10. What is the first name of the title character in Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway?
[ ] Clara
[ ] Clarabelle
[x] Clarissa
[ ] Clementine
Mrs Dalloway is a high-society woman in inter-war England and the book recounts a day in her life