Yesterday I got a nice postcard and letter in the post from a regular correspondent, my aunt Jacq – I’ve put up a photo of the postcard. It is brilliantly apposite for Stuck-in-a-Book, and appears to have been bought in Berlin – I do hope Jacq didn’t make the trip to Germany especially for me. I rather think not.
We’ve exchanged letters for five years now, and through that time have often set each other Literary Challenges of some sort or other – I thought I’d share this one. Have done my best (which turned out not to be very good) without resorting to good old Google. So please do give a hand, but only if you know them already – let’s not cheat just yet!
Ok, the challenge is this – all of these are fictional places, or real places used in literature. Who are the authors?
I only got 13. Oo, exactly half.
Archenland
Brobdingnag
Cranford
Dune
Erewhon
Frenchman’s Creek
Gormenghast
Hogsmead
Ishmaelia
Judas College, Oxford
Kenilworth
Loamshire
Mariposa
Neverland
Oz
Puddleby-on-the-Marsh
Quarne
Ruritania
St. Mary Mead
Troytown
Utopia
Villette
Wigan Pier
Xanadu
Yell’ham Bottom
Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Brobdingnag – Swift
Frenchman’s Creek – du Maurier
Hogsmead – Rowling
Kenilworth – this is real, it’s near Leamington
Neverland – Barrie
Ruritania – is this Orwell?
St. Mary Mead – Christie
Xanadu – Colerige
Feeble effort on my part. Several more that I’m sure I know really.
Hmm…plenty I don’t know, and several that are hauntingly familiar without my quite being able to put a name to them…but let’s see if I can add to Colin’s efforts.
Archenland – Lewis, I think. Isn’t that one of Narnia’s neighbouring countries?
Erewhon – Butler (part of his oh-so-witty wordplay)
Gormenghast – Peake (I think)
Utopia – Thomas More/Moore (however you spell it – probably other authors too)
Wigan Pier – Orwell
Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha – Adams
Cranford – Gaskell
Oz-Baum
Villette – Charlotte Bronte
Some more *sound* familiar. I’d like to see the entire list.
forgot Oz- Baum
The only ones I have actually READ are:
Scoop
Northern Lights
Middlemarch (if that IS where Loamshire comes from)
Peter Pan
The W of OZ and its sequel
Kubla Khan
Kenilworth is Walter Scott
Dune is Frank Herbert
I’ve tried to post my list TWICE already and it has lost both attampts tho’ my top-up comment HAS appeared. What is going on?
Ok, so one’s people haven’t already mentioned are
Gormenghast – Peak(e)
Ishmaelia – his where that blundering jornalist in Scoop by Waugh, gets sent
Judas Collge – Pullman?
St Mary Mead is where Miss Marple either lives or visits – by Christie
Troytown – Quiller Couch – his name for Fowey, Cornwall
Hi Si – the Aged Ps
Archenland CS Lewis
Brobdingnag – Swift
Cranford – Gaskell
Dune – Herbert
Erewhon – Butler
Frenchman’s Creek – du Maurier
Gormenghast – Peake
Hogsmead – Pratchett?
Ishmaelia – ?
Judas College, Oxford – Dexter?
Kenilworth – Scott
Loamshire – Trollope?
Mariposa – ?
Neverland – Barrie
Oz – wizard of (Baum)
Puddleby-on-the-Marsh – ?
Quarne – ?
Ruritania – Prisoner of Zenda
St. Mary Mead – Christie
Troytown – Hardy?
Utopia – Moore
Villette – Charlotte Bronte
Wigan Pier – Orwell
Xanadu – Coleridge
Yell’ham Bottom – Laurie Lee?
Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha – ?
The only ones that no-one has yet identified are:
Judas College, Oxford
Mariposa
Puddleby-on-the-Marsh
Qvarne (note spelling – probably a result of poor handwriting of Aunt and too much English education of Nephew)
Yell’ham Bottom.
I was surprised at the Aged Ps not recognising Hogsmead! Did the Prisoner of Zenda write any other books?
Judas College — Zuleika Dobson
Puddleby — Dr Doolittle!