Bing Famous Authors Quiz – Writers and Their Best-Known Books
The Bing Famous Authors Quiz asks you to match influential authors with their books, careers and surprising biographical facts, from Mark Twain and George Orwell to Agatha Christie, J.K. Rowling, Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway and Charles Dickens. A pen name can be as famous as the writer behind it.
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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds
Pen names
What was Mark Twain's real name?
Pen names
George Orwell, author of 1984, was born with which name?
Mystery
Agatha Christie created which Belgian detective?
Austen
Jane Austen's novels were first published how?
Hemingway
Which short novel helped Ernest Hemingway win the Pulitzer Prize?
Dickens
Charles Dickens published many of his novels how?
Rowling
Why did J.K. Rowling use initials instead of her first name, Joanne?
Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien worked as a professor of what?
Gothic
How old was Mary Shelley when she began writing Frankenstein?
Russia
War and Peace was written by which Russian novelist?
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Scroll down to see the explanation for each question.
Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions
- Q1: What was Mark Twain's real name?
Answer: Samuel Clemens
Mark twain was a river term meaning two fathoms deep. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
- Q2: George Orwell, author of 1984, was born with which name?
Answer: Eric Arthur Blair
Blair chose the pen name Orwell after a river in Suffolk. Animal Farm and 1984 made him famous.
- Q3: Agatha Christie created which Belgian detective?
Answer: Hercule Poirot
Poirot appeared in 33 novels. Christie is one of the best-selling novelists of all time.
- Q4: Jane Austen's novels were first published how?
Answer: Anonymously, credited to A Lady
Sense and Sensibility appeared in 1811 as written By a Lady. Her name became widely known only after her death.
- Q5: Which short novel helped Ernest Hemingway win the Pulitzer Prize?
Answer: The Old Man and the Sea
The book follows an old Cuban fisherman and a giant marlin. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
- Q6: Charles Dickens published many of his novels how?
Answer: In monthly or weekly installments
Readers waited eagerly for each new part. Dickens also performed public readings of his work.
- Q7: Why did J.K. Rowling use initials instead of her first name, Joanne?
Answer: Her publisher worried boys might not read a book by a woman
Rowling has no middle name; the K comes from her grandmother Kathleen. She also writes crime novels as Robert Galbraith.
- Q8: J.R.R. Tolkien worked as a professor of what?
Answer: English language and literature
Tolkien studied old languages and invented his own for Middle-earth. The Hobbit was published in 1937.
- Q9: How old was Mary Shelley when she began writing Frankenstein?
Answer: About 18
The idea came from a ghost-story contest near Lake Geneva in 1816. The novel was published in 1818.
- Q10: War and Peace was written by which Russian novelist?
Answer: Leo Tolstoy
The novel follows families during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Tolstoy also wrote Anna Karenina, another giant of Russian literature.
Bing Famous Authors Quiz – Writers and Their Best-Known Books
Famous authors often have stories as interesting as their books. Some used pen names, some published anonymously and others wrote under unusual conditions that shaped their work.
Pen names hide many writers. Mark Twain was Samuel Clemens, George Orwell was Eric Arthur Blair and J.K. Rowling used initials because her publisher worried boys might not read a book by a woman. Jane Austen's novels first appeared simply as written By a Lady.
Careers took different paths. Charles Dickens published novels in installments, Agatha Christie created Hercule Poirot and Ernest Hemingway won a Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea. J.R.R. Tolkien was a professor who invented languages for Middle-earth.
Age and place matter too. Mary Shelley began Frankenstein at about 18 during a ghost-story contest, and Leo Tolstoy wrote War and Peace about Napoleon's invasion of Russia.
Each of the ten questions in the Bing Famous Authors Quiz gives you three choices and a short explanation once you answer. The timer runs for 150 seconds, so try to trust your first instinct on the easy ones and save time for the tricky questions near the end. You can replay the quiz as often as you like. There is no sign-up and nothing to download, so you can start right away. When you are done, the related quizzes below are a good next step on the same topic.
Play the quiz and see how well you can match authors with their books and lives.
What This Quiz Teaches
- Famous pen names
- Anonymous publishing
- How classic novels were published
- Detective fiction
- Prize-winning authors
- Writers' early lives
Quick Facts
- The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded since 1901.
- Many authors wrote in cafés or libraries.
- Some classics were rejected many times.
- Charles Dickens visited America twice.
- Agatha Christie also wrote as Mary Westmacott.
- Translations bring authors to new readers.
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