Which books are in this classic literature quiz?

Public-domain classics first published before 1930, including Moby-Dick, Pride and Prejudice, Dracula, Frankenstein, Treasure Island and the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Can I use these questions for a quiz night?

Yes. The four rounds of six questions each suit a small group. Hide the answers, read each question aloud, then reveal the answer.

Is there a daily book quiz I can play on my phone?

Title is a free daily book puzzle for iPhone. It starts from the opening line of a public-domain classic and gives you six clues and six guesses.

Classic literature trivia questions and answers

Updated October 2026 · Reno Labs

This quiz has 24 questions about classic novels in four rounds of six: first lines, characters and places, authors and dates, and plots. Every book was first published before 1930. Tap “Show answer” under a question to check yourself; the answers are also in the page text.

Scoring is one point per question, 24 in all. For a group, read a round aloud, let everyone write down answers, then reveal them. When a question asks for two things, such as an author and a year, give the point only if both are right.

How we checked. First lines, ships, houses and characters were checked against the Project Gutenberg text of each book. Publication years and the Mark Twain pen name come from Wikipedia. We kept to questions with one clear answer, and we skipped anything where editions or translations disagree.

We make Title, a daily puzzle built on public-domain classics.

Round 1: Name the book from its first line

“Call me Ishmael.” Which novel begins this way?
Show answer
Answer: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851).
“All children, except one, grow up.” Which story begins this way?
Show answer
Answer: Peter Pan, published as the novel Peter and Wendy in 1911, by J. M. Barrie.
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Which Russian novel begins this way?
Show answer
Answer: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. The Gutenberg text used here is Constance Garnett’s translation.
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.” Which novel, and who wrote it?
Show answer
Answer: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925).
“The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.” Which children’s classic begins this way?
Show answer
Answer: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908).
“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” Which Dickens novel begins this way?
Show answer
Answer: David Copperfield.

Round 2: Characters, ships and houses

Which Dickens character says, “Please, sir, I want some more”?
Show answer
Answer: Oliver Twist, in the workhouse, in Oliver Twist.
What is the name of Captain Ahab’s ship in Moby-Dick?
Show answer
Answer: The Pequod.
What is the name of the ship in Treasure Island?
Show answer
Answer: The Hispaniola.
In Pride and Prejudice, what is the name of Mr. Darcy’s estate?
Show answer
Answer: Pemberley.
In Wuthering Heights, which house does Mr. Lockwood rent from Heathcliff?
Show answer
Answer: Thrushcross Grange.
At what address do Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson share rooms?
Show answer
Answer: 221B Baker Street, first named in A Study in Scarlet (1887).

Round 3: Authors and dates

Who wrote Dracula, and in what year was it first published?
Show answer
Answer: Bram Stoker, in 1897.
Which Brontë sister wrote Jane Eyre?
Show answer
Answer: Charlotte Brontë (1847).
In what year was Pride and Prejudice first published?
Show answer
Answer: 1813.
Mark Twain was a pen name. What was the writer’s real name?
Show answer
Answer: Samuel Langhorne Clemens.
Who wrote The Time Machine, and in what year was it published?
Show answer
Answer: H. G. Wells, in 1895.
In what year did Sherlock Holmes first appear in print, in A Study in Scarlet?
Show answer
Answer: 1887.

Round 4: Plots and places

In A Tale of Two Cities, which two cities does the title mean?
Show answer
Answer: London and Paris.
In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, what does the Scarecrow hope the Wizard will give him?
Show answer
Answer: Brains.
In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which animal does Alice follow down the rabbit-hole?
Show answer
Answer: The White Rabbit.
In Three Men in a Boat, what is the dog called?
Show answer
Answer: Montmorency.
Dracula is told through diary entries, letters and newspaper clippings. Whose journal opens the novel?
Show answer
Answer: Jonathan Harker’s. The first entry is dated 3 May and written in Bistritz.
Frankenstein opens with letters from an explorer to his sister. What is his name?
Show answer
Answer: Robert Walton, writing to Mrs. Saville.

Want one a day?

Title is a free daily puzzle for iPhone. Clue 1 is the opening line of that day’s public-domain book, and you pick the title from six candidates. A wrong pick is struck out and the next clue appears. You have six guesses.

More reading: famous first lines of classic novels and book guessing games.

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Frequently asked questions

Which books are in this classic literature quiz?: Public-domain classics first published before 1930, including Moby-Dick, Pride and Prejudice, Dracula, Frankenstein, Treasure Island and the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Can I use these questions for a quiz night?: Yes. The four rounds of six questions each suit a small group. Hide the answers, read each question aloud, then reveal the answer.
How were the answers checked?: First lines, ships, houses and characters against the Project Gutenberg text of each book; publication years and the Mark Twain pen name against Wikipedia.
Is there a daily book quiz I can play on my phone?: Title is a free daily book puzzle for iPhone. It starts from the opening line of a public-domain classic and gives you six clues and six guesses.