This week will be a short set, as I am doing this at short notice. This week's trivia has a theme: the written word. No googling please!

1. In June 2008, the city council of Florence, Italy passed a motion rescinding a sentence originally handed out in 1301. The sentenced had condemned a famous Florentine poet to exile, violation of which would result in burning at the stake. The poet died 20 years later in Ravenna. In the nineteenth century, the city of Florence built a tomb for him with an inscription that means, “Honor the most exalted poet!” The inscription is a direct quote from the exiled Florentine’s most famous work. The next line of that Italian work means, “His spirit, which had left us, returns.” But ironically, the tomb Florence build does not contain the poet’s mortal remains. Name the poet and the book from which the quote is taken.

2. The epigraph at the beginning of this book is a quote from the Katha Upanishad; the quote gives the book its name, and speaks about the difficulty of attaining mOksha. The opening line of the book is: “I have never begun a novel with more misgiving.” The novel deals with an American called Larry Durrell whose experiences as a pilot in the First World War traumatized him. The book contains a chapter on Advaita philosophy. Name the novel and its author.

3. The second sentence of this scientific article in the journal Nature is: “This structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest.” The key finding of the paper was a result of X-ray crystallography. The paper cited six references; one was from the same issue of Nature, one more from an article published earlier that year, three from articles published in the previous year. The oldest of the references was from the year 1947. Who wrote the paper, what was it about, and in which year was it written?

4. The preface to this book published in 1862 says, “So long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.” Upton Sinclair called it “one of the half-dozen greatest novels of the world.” The book opens in the year 1815 and chronicles events over almost 30 years. More than one-fourth of the novel is devoted to essays that argue a moral point rather than advance the plot. The novel was widely anticipated; The New York Times announced its forthcoming publication in 1860. Name the novel and its author.

5. This novel published in 1859 has one of the most famous opening lines of any book. The last line of the book is: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” Sydney Carton, a clever English lawyer, is the character that thinks these words just before he dies. Name the novel and its author.

3. watson and crick? the structure of DNA?

5. Too easy. A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens

4. That punishment of a musical recently released.

[quote="trofimov"]This week will be a short set, as I am doing this at short notice. This week's trivia has a theme: the written word. No googling please!

1. In June 2008, the city council of Florence, Italy passed a motion rescinding a sentence originally handed out in 1301. The sentenced had condemned a famous Florentine poet to exile, violation of which would result in burning at the stake. The poet died 20 years later in Ravenna. In the nineteenth century, the city of Florence built a tomb for him with an inscription that means, “Honor the most exalted poet!” The inscription is a direct quote from the exiled Florentine’s most famous work. The next line of that Italian work means, “His spirit, which had left us, returns.” But ironically, the tomb Florence build does not contain the poet’s mortal remains. Name the poet and the book from which the quote is taken.

>>>>Dante? Inferno?

2. The epigraph at the beginning of this book is a quote from the Katha Upanishad; the quote gives the book its name, and speaks about the difficulty of attaining mOksha. The opening line of the book is: “I have never begun a novel with more misgiving.” The novel deals with an American called Larry Durrell whose experiences as a pilot in the First World War traumatized him. The book contains a chapter on Advaita philosophy. Name the novel and its author.

>>>Razor's edge?

3. The second sentence of this scientific article in the journal Nature is: “This structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest.” The key finding of the paper was a result of X-ray crystallography. The paper cited six references; one was from the same issue of Nature, one more from an article published earlier that year, three from articles published in the previous year. The oldest of the references was from the year 1947. Who wrote the paper, what was it about, and in which year was it written?

4. The preface to this book published in 1862 says, “So long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.” Upton Sinclair called it “one of the half-dozen greatest novels of the world.” The book opens in the year 1815 and chronicles events over almost 30 years. More than one-fourth of the novel is devoted to essays that argue a moral point rather than advance the plot. The novel was widely anticipated; The New York Times announced its forthcoming publication in 1860. Name the novel and its author.



5. This novel published in 1859 has one of the most famous opening lines of any book. The last line of the book is: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” Sydney Carton, a clever English lawyer, is the character that thinks these words just before he dies. Name the novel and its author.


>>>Count of Monte Cristo?

1. ???
2. Somerset Maughm, Razor's Edge.
3. About DNA?
4. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo.
5. A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens.

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:3. watson and crick? the structure of DNA?

Correct.

Hellsangel wrote:5. Too easy. A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens

Correct.

Hellsangel wrote:4. That punishment of a musical recently released.

Correct.

Kris wrote:1. Dante? Inferno?

Correct.

Kris wrote:2. Razor's edge?

Correct.

Kris wrote:5. Count of Monte Cristo?

No, this is the Tale of Two Cities by Dickens.

indophile wrote:1. ???
2. Somerset Maughm, Razor's Edge.
3. About DNA?
4. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo.
5. A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens.

All your answers are correct. Dante's Inferno is the answer to the first question.

This set was too easy.

I was going to post it today. Next week for sure! Sorry!

Pope Francis wrote:I was going to post it today. Next week for sure! Sorry!

Sounds good!