General Knowledge 52

Question 1

Which Irish novelist wrote ‘Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married’ and ‘Sushi for Beginners’?

Answer 1

Marian Keyes

Question 2

What ‘Games’ did Suzanne Collins write about in her well-known trilogy?

Answer 2

Hunger Games

Question 3

Which novel begins: ‘“They made a silly mistake, though,” the professor of history said, and his smile, as Dixon watched, gradually sank beneath the surface of his features at the memory.’? And for a bonus point who wrote it?

Answer 3

Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis

Question 4

Which fictional character lives at Danemead, High Street, St Mary Mead?

Answer 4

Miss Marple

Question 5

From which Shakespeare play does the following quote come? ‘Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow.’

Answer 5

Romeo and Juliet

Question 6

Born in 1975, who is the best-selling author of ‘White Teeth’?

Answer 6

Zadie Smith

Question 7

Dan Brown’s novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’ begins with a murder in which famous museum?

Answer 7

The Louvre

Question 8

Which girls’ name is the title of Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel?

Answer 8

Rebecca

Question 9

This is the first line to which poem: ‘Remember me when I am gone away…’ and for a bonus point, who wrote it?

Answer 9

Remember by Christina Rossetti

Question 10

The title of John Steinbeck’s classic novel completes a well-known phrase, ‘the best laid schemes of…’ what?

Answer 10

Mice and Men

Question 11

What was the name of the waitress played by Connie Booth in the TV sitcom ‘Fawlty Towers’?

Answer 11

Polly

Question 12

Spider, hermit and masked are types of which creature?

Answer 12

Crab

Question 13

Which German word literally means ‘the spirit of the times’?

Answer 13

Zeitgeist

Question 14

On a standard UK computer keyboard, which letter comes between A and D?

Answer 14

S

Question 15

What is the name of the official country home of the British Prime Minister, near Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire?

Answer 15

Chequers

Question 16

What is the surname of the politician and former London Mayor who in the 1980s was nicknamed ‘Red Ken’?

Answer 16

Livingstone

Question 17

Which former UK economic advisor was found guilty of perverting the course of justice in March 2013 for taking her husband’s speeding points?

Answer 17

Vicky Pryce (wife of Chris Huhne)

Question 18

‘The Dong’ is the official currency of which country?

Answer 18

Vietnam

Question 19

Pinto, borlotti, cannellini and kidney are all types of what?

Answer 19

Beans

Question 20

Which tree, with white flowers and scarlet berries, is also known as the Mountain Ash?

Answer 20

Rowan tree

Question 21

In which band would you find Babydaddy and Randy Real?

Answer 21

Scissor Sisters

Question 22

What was the title of Santana’s 1999 chart-topping album?

Answer 22

Supernatural

Question 23

Which former pop singer created the fashion line ‘Project D’?

Answer 23

Dannii Minogue

Question 24

‘The minute you walked in the joint’ is the opening line from which Shirley Bassey hit single?

Answer 24

Big Spender

Question 25

How is the musician Marvin Lee Addy better known?

Answer 25

Meatloaf

Question 26

‘Love Changes Everything’ is a song from which stage musical?

Answer 26

Aspects of Love

Question 27

Who composed The Brandenburg Concertos?

Answer 27

Bach

Question 28

Who sang ‘Boom Bang-A-Bang’ to win the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK?

Answer 28

Lulu

Question 29

Who recorded the album ‘Parallel Lines’ in 1978?

Answer 29

Blondie

Question 30

Who wrote the music for the stage musical ‘Billy Elliot’?

Answer 30

Elton John