Art & Literature50 randomly selected Art & Literature questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 14th September 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | How many Tate art galleries are there in the UK? |
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Four (Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St.Ives and Tate Modern) | |
| 2. | Who is best known for his novels Lie Down in Darkness (1951), The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967), and Sophie's Choice (1979)? |
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William Styron | |
| 3. | What famous battle shares its name with Hercule Poirot's best friend and assistant? |
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Hastings (Captain Arthur Hastings, OBE) | |
| 4. | Who wrote the bestselling erotic romance trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed? |
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E. L. James (Erika Leonard) | |
| 5. | In Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, who never stopped sobbing? |
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Mock Turtle | |
| 6. | Who wrote the Twilight series of novels? |
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Stephenie Meyer | |
| 7. | What 19th century author's scary short stories include The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Pit and the Pendulum? |
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Edgar Allan Poe | |
| 8. | Shortly before his death in November 1900, who is reputed to have said, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has got to go."? |
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Oscar Wilde | |
| 9. | What is the emblematic animal of Hufflepuff house in the Harry Potter series? |
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Badger | |
| 10. | What is the British cartoon character, Andy Capp, known as in Germany? |
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C. Willi Wacker | |
| 11. | In Oliver Twist, what is the name of Bill Sikes' dog? |
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Bull's Eye | |
| 12. | What popular children's book series is based on the fictional Island of Sodor in the Irish Sea? |
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Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends | |
| 13. | In what 1924 E.M. Forster novel does an English tourist accuse a doctor of attacking her? |
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A Passage to India | |
| 14. | The Red Vineyard is the only painting known by name to be sold in his lifetime by what artist? |
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Vincent van Gogh | |
| 15. | According to the Deep Thought supercomputer, what is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything? |
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42 (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) | |
| 16. | Who wrote the 1912 play Pygmalion? |
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George Bernard Shaw | |
| 17. | Following the Renaissance style and preceding the Rococo, what 'B' describes the highly ornate and often extravagant style of architecture, art and music that flourished in Europe from the early 17th until the late 18th century? |
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Baroque | |
| 18. | "Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die." are the last words of what literary character? |
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Romeo (William Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet) | |
| 19. | The title character of what Dickens novel takes a job as a teacher at Dotheboys Hall? |
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Nicholas Nickleby | |
| 20. | Whose works include the poems "And death shall have no dominion" and "Do not go gentle into that good night"? |
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Dylan Thomas | |
| 21. | A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of 13 children's novels by American author Daniel Handler, written under what pen name? |
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Lemony Snicket | |
| 22. | Covering the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, what is the title of this fresco by Michelangelo? |
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The Last Judgment (Italian: Il Giudizio Universale) | |
| 23. | In the Harry Potter books, what type of creature is "Scabbers"? |
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Rat (Ron Weasley's pet, later discovered to be Peter Pettigrew masquerading as a rat) | |
| 24. | In Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo, what type of animal begins the story by inventing the title character to scare off predators? |
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A mouse | |
| 25. | The Hugo Award is an annual literary prize for the best novel in what genre? |
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Science fiction / Fantasy | |
| 26. | Under what pen name did the artist Hablot Knight Browne illustrate the works of Charles Dickens? |
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Phiz | |
| 27. | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest are collectively known as the _________ Trilogy. |
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Millennium (Stieg Larsson) | |
| 28. | First published in 1988, who wrote A Brief History of Time? |
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Stephen Hawking | |
| 29. | One of the most famous paintings in the world, in 1893, what Norwegian artist painted four versions of The Scream? |
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Edvard Munch | |
| 30. | What American artist who died in 1956 was famous for his 'action painting' method? |
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Jackson Pollock | |
| 31. | What is the name of the Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare's Merchant Of Venice? |
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Shylock | |
| 32. | What musician's second book, first published in 1965, was titled A Spaniard in the Works? |
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John Lennon | |
| 33. | Lord Emsworth dotes over his pet pig, the Empress of Blandings, in a series of early 20th century novels by what British author? |
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P. G. Wodehouse | |
| 34. | What is the pen name of British spy novelist David John Moore Cornwell? |
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John le Carré | |
| 35. | Portrayed in his best known work, what was the home city of Italian artist Canaletto? |
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Venice | |
| 36. | First published in 1952, who wrote The Old Man and the Sea? |
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Ernest Hemingway | |
| 37. | Published in 2016 under the pseudonym Beryl Evans, what famous author wrote the children's book Charlie the Choo-Choo? |
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Stephen King | |
| 38. | First published between 2005 and 2020, what series of novels are best-sellers for author Stephenie Meyer? |
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Twilight (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, Midnight Sun) | |
| 39. | What are the names of these two Winnie-the-Pooh characters? |
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Kanga & Roo | |
| 40. | Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 is an 1871 painting, more commonly known as what? |
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Whistler's Mother (James McNeill Whistler) | |
| 41. | So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984), Mostly Harmless (1992), and And Another Thing... (2009) are the last three books in what hexology, first published in 1979? |
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (also The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980), and Life, the Universe and Everything (1982)) | |
| 42. | What Roald Dahl book features a giant called the Gizzardgulper? |
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The BFG (short for "Big Friendly Giant") | |
| 43. | What 1898 short story by John Luther Long became the basis of a famous 1904 opera by Giacomo Puccini? |
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Madame Butterfly | |
| 44. | Fart Proudly is the popular name of an essay about flatulence written by what American statesmen circa 1781? |
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Benjamin Franklin | |
| 45. | What fictional city is home to Batman and Robin? |
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Gotham City | |
| 46. | Nell Trent, Richard "Dick" Swiveller and Daniel Quilp are characters from what 1841 Dickens' novel? |
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The Old Curiosity Shop | |
| 47. | The longest running play of the modern era, what famous author wrote the murder mystery play The Mousetrap? |
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Agatha Christie (1952) | |
| 48. | Born in Singapore in 1907, Leslie Charteris was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction. For what character, frequently portrayed on film and TV, is he best known? |
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Simon Templar ("The Saint") | |
| 49. | The Lancet is a world-renowned journal for what profession? |
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Medical | |
| 50. | Captain Arthur J. M. Hastings, OBE, was the trusty companion of what 20th century literary character? |
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Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie) | |
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