Profiles of Famous Writers

Question: Ernest Hemingway revised his book A Farewell to Arms this many times:

Answer: Ernest Hemingway revised his second novel 39 times, concentrating especially hard on the last pages.

Question: Which of these authors is not from Africa?

Answer: Though his Tarzan novels are set in Africa, Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) was an American writer.

Question: Which Russian writer lived in exile from 1974 to 1994?

Answer: Exiled from the Soviet Union since February 13, 1974, for writing The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn returned to his homeland only in 1994.

Question: A.A. Milne’s initials stand for:

Answer: Alan Alexander Milne, born in 1882, was the author of the "Winnie the Pooh" books, as well as several plays.

Question: Which of these novelists is from the American South?

Answer: William Faulkner, who was from the state of Mississippi, is among the most eminent literary figures of the American South.

Question: Which writer once ran for president of Peru?

Answer: Mario Vargas Llosa, the author of The War of the End of the World and other novels, ran unsuccessfully for the Peruvian presidency in 1990.

Question: Which of these authors did not write science-fiction novels?

Answer: Agatha Christie wrote mystery novels and plays. Translated into 100 languages, her 75 novels have sold more than 100 million copies.

Question: Jorge Luis Borges was a famous writer from what country?

Answer: Jorge Luis Borges was born in 1899 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and lived there for most of his life. He is renowned for his philosophical, labyrinthine, often fantastical works.

Question: In what country was J.R.R. Tolkien born?

Answer: J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892, in South Africa. At age 4 he moved with his family to England.