Literature
Who wrote the poem "She Walks in Beauty"?
A) John Keats
B) George Gordon, Lord Byron
C) Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The answer is B - Lord Byron wrote "She Walks in Beauty!"
Which song was released by the '80s artist Prince?
A) Blue Suede Shoes
B) Material Girl
C) Raspberry Barret
The answer is C - Raspberry Barret!
(Blue Suede Shoes was by Elvis Presley, and Material Girl was released by Madonna)
What is Mr Darcy's first name?
A) George
B) Charles
C) Fitzwilliam
The answer is C - Fitzwilliam!
(Fun fact: Mr Darcy's first name was his mother's maiden name.)
What is Emily Bronte's middle name?
A) Elizabeth
B) Jane
C) Rose
The answer is B - her middle name was Jane!
How old was Jane Austen when she wrote her first draft of Pride and Prejudice (originally titled First Impressions)?
A) 20
B) 17
C) 25
The answer is A - Jane Austen wrote First Impressions in the summer of 1796, when she was 20 years old (she would turn 21 that December).
What are the names of the four March sisters in Louisa May Alcott's semi-autobiographical novel Little Women?
Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy
True or False: Taylor Swift released a song called When Emma Falls in Love, which she said was about Jane Austen's heroine Emma Woodhouse. Taylor Swift said she always thought it was funny how Emma treated the love lives of other people like a game. Taylor also stated that Mr Knightley is her biggest literary crush.
False, unfortunately! Taylor did release a song by that title, but she has not said it is about Emma Woodhouse, nor did she say Mr Knightley is her literary crush. However, Taylor did write a song about Romeo and Juliet, so maybe a song about Austen characters isn't out of the question ...
Name at least three members of Mr. Darcy's family. Hint: his sister, his aunt, and two of his cousins are featured in Pride and Prejudice.
Any of the following are correct: Georgiana Darcy (his sister), Lady Catherine De Bourgh (his aunt), Anne De Bourgh (his cousin), Col. Fitzwilliam (another cousin).
What was Charlotte Bronte's first published novel?
A) The Professor
B) Jane Eyre
C) Villette
The answer is B - Jane Eyre, published in 1847! Charlotte did write her novel The Professor before she wrote Jane Eyre, but the Professor was not published until about a decade later.
Jane Austen's father, the Reverend George Austen, ran a school for boys in his parish. True or False: when they were little girls, Jane Austen and her slightly-older sister, Cassandra, once dressed up as boys and sat in on one of their father's classes. Rev. Austen obviously recognized his daughters, but he was so amused that he decided to play along, and allowed them to sit in on the full day of lessons.
True or False: In L.M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables, her fiery-haired, fiery-spirited heroine Anne Shirley hits Gilbert Blythe over the head with a slate chalkboard after he pulls on her braid and calls her "carrots!" in order to get her attention.
That is true! And that must of been acutely painful.
Which song did the contemporary classical artist Alexis Ffrench compose?
A) Four Seasons
B) Bluebird
C) Swan Lake
The answer is B, Bluebird!
How old is Mr. Darcy?
A) 24
B) 28
C) 36
The answer is B - Mr. Darcy is 28 years old.
There was once an amiable young curate named William Weightman who worked with the Brontes' father, Rev. Patrick Bronte, in the 1840s. William Weightman and the then 20-year-old Anne Bronte were allegedly in love. True or False: William Weightman once anonymously sent the Bronte sisters Valentine's Day cards after discovering they had never received any before. He walked ten miles in the harsh February weather to bring the cards to the post office in the next town, so the sisters wouldn't guess it was he who sent them. However, the sisters quickly figured him out, and sent him a poem in return by way of a thank you.
'Tis true! William Weightman really did anonymously send them Valentine's Day cards because he felt bad they had never received any before ... and also possibly because he wanted to something extra-special for Anne Bronte on the day of hearts.
True or False: The poet Lord Alfred Tennyson was a major fan of Jane Austen's work. His favorite novel was Persuasion, in which there is an iconic scene in Lyme Regis when the young and flirtatious Louisa Musgrove accidentally falls off the steps of the dock while trying to attract Captain Wentworth's attention. When Lord Alfred Tennyson once visited Lyme Regis with a friend, he stopped in his tracks in the middle of their walk along the dock and declared, "Take me to the exact spot Louisa Musgrove fell!"
That is true! Lord Alfred Tennyson was a huge fan of Jane Austen, and particularly of Persuasion, and he really did ask his friend to take him to the exact spot on the dock where Louisa Musgrove fell. As that whole scenario in Persuasion was fictitious, it was likely very difficult for Tennyson's friend to pinpoint the exact spot Miss Musgrove would have fallen, but hopefully Tennyson was satisfied.
The novel Dracula was written by Bram Stoker and published in the year 1897. It features a wide and diverse cast of characters. Name at least three of the central characters - excluding Dracula!
Possibly answers: Abram Van Helsing, Lucy Westenra, Mina Murray/Harker, Jonathan Harker, Dr. John Seward, Arthur Holmwood.
The album Unreal Unearth was released in the summer of 2023 by which artist?
A) Hozier
B) Shawn Mendes
C) Taylor Swift
The answer is A - the artist Hozier released Unreal Unearth as his third studio album.
In what chapter of Pride and Prejudice was Mr. Darcy introduced?
A) Chapter 3
B) Chapter 6
C) Chapter 10
The answer is A - Mr Darcy is first introduced in Chapter 3, at the Meryton Assembly.
Helen Graham is the heroine of which Bronte novel?
A) The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
B) Villette by Charlotte Bronte
C) Wuthering Heights by Anne Bronte
The answer is A - Helen Graham is the heroine of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte!
Name at least three of Jane Austen's siblings. Hint: she had six brothers and one sister (and I've mentioned her sister's name a few times already!).
Acceptable answers:
James, George, Edward, Henry, Cassandra, Francis, Charles.
True or False: the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, who is also known as one of the Lake Poets, as he lived and wrote primarily in the Lake District in England, had a sister named Dorothy who was also a writer, and who kept a long and detailed diary that has since been published.
True! Dorothy Wordsworth kept a beautifully written diary over the course of several years while living in the Lake District!
True or False: Alexis Ffrench composed the music for the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, which starred Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.
'Tis false! The soundtrack is beautiful, but Alexis Ffrench did not compose it (though maybe he'll create the soundtrack for a future adaptation ...?)
True of False: Mr Darcy was inspired by Tom Lefroy, the handsome young Irish lawyer Jane Austen flirted and danced with in the winter of 1795. Jane Austen admitted this in a letter to her sister, Cassandra, after beginning the first draft of Pride and Prejudice, saying that Darcy was what she thought Lefroy would have been had he been a wealthy man. She said she did not want anyone to know Lefroy was the inspiration, but she could not resist mentioning in one of the later chapters of Pride and Prejudice that Darcy's mother had been an Irish aristocrat, a nod to Lefroy's nationality.
False! There is no evidence that Lefroy was the inspiration for Darcy, nor was Darcy's mother Irish. However, as a young child, Jane Austen filled out two marriage registers at her father's church, uniting herself to two different imaginary husbands. The name of her first imaginary husband was Fitzwilliam, so maybe Fitzwilliam Darcy was based off of the imaginary husband Jane had as a child.
True or false: Charlotte Bronte said she based her heroine Shirley Keeldar in her novel Shirley off of her sister Emily Bronte, imbuing Shirley with the same adventurous spirit and love of the outdoors that Emily had. She also wrote about how Shirley used a hot iron to cauterize a bite she received from an allegedly rabid dog, a direct reference to Emily, who once did the same thing.
True! Charlotte did base Shirley off of Emily (and yes, Emily really cauterized her own wound with a hot iron). It is also speculated that Shirley's best friend, Caroline Hellstone, is based off of Anne Bronte, although Charlotte's friend Ellen Nussey thought Caroline was based off of herself.
List all six of Jane Austen's completed novels in the order in which they were published. Hint: her last two novels were published together in a joint volume.
(Her Juvenilia and her unfinished novels and short stories, such as Lesley Castle, Love and Friendship, Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon are not included.)
Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), and Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously in a joint volume in 1817.