A Study of Writers

Question: Which of these was not a member of the Mermaid Club?

Answer: The Friday Street Club (also called the Mermaid Club) was formed by Sir Walter Raleigh. Ben Jonson was its leading spirit, and Shakespeare was a popular member.

Question: Which of these writers has not been knighted by the royal family of England?

Answer: Naipaul was knighted in 1989, Rushdie in 2007 (resulting in much controversy), and Pratchett in 2008. Conrad, on the other hand, was offered knighthood in 1924, but he declined the honor.

Question: What was the novelist Somerset Maugham’s first name?

Answer: Somerset Maugham was the author of The Razor’s Edge and many other books. His first name was William, and he signed his name W. Somerset Maugham.

Question: Which of these authors wrote a novella about a man who turns into an insect?

Answer: Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (1915) begins with a scene in which Gregor Samsa, the main character, wakes up to discover that he has mysteriously been transformed into a giant insect.

Question: What country was William Butler Yeats from?

Answer: William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland, on June 13, 1865, the eldest son of an artist.

Question: With which of these genres is Stephen King generally associated?

Answer: Stephen King, author of It and Carrie, was a best-selling horror writer.

Question: Where did J.M. Coetzee grow up?

Answer: J.M. Coetzee, the winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature, was born and educated in Cape Town, South Africa. His works are known for their exploration of the causes and effects of colonialism.

Question: Which of these authors is principally known for his or her diaries?

Answer: Anaïs Nin began keeping a diary in 1914, when she was 11 years old. It was first published in the 1960s. Thanks to her bold approach to the female experience, Nin swiftly became a feminist icon.

Question: Which of these writers did not publish a major work during the 1930s?

Answer: Jack Kerouac was only 18 at the end of the 1930s and had certainly published nothing of note yet! He wrote constantly, but his career did not really take off until the 1950s.