It’s the 100th birth anniversary of one of the most popular writers of the 20th century. In his four-decade writing career, Harold Robbins sold more than 750 million copies. This quiz is dedicated to him and other ‘page turners’.

1 The Elvis Presley film King Creole was an adaptation of which bestselling Harold Robbins novel?

2 She was the first author to have three consecutive Number 1 titles on The New York Times bestseller list. Her second and third books were Love Machine, and Once is Not Enough. Name the first, which is still one of the largest selling books of all time.

3 Jin Yong is the pen name of Zha Liangyong, who has sold more than a hundred million copies. In which specific genre is Jin regarded as the greatest living author?

4 Bestselling American legal thriller writer John Grisham’s first major hit was The Firm. But which was his first published novel, written when he was serving in the Mississippi House of Representatives between 1984 and 1990?

5 This prolific author actually moved to full-time writing only after retiring from the ad firm J Walter Thompson. His first novel was The Thomas Berryman Number, but his real success came with his stories involving a former forensic psychologist with the Washington DC Metropolitan Police. Identify this prolific author.

6 In the 2000s, which bestselling author wrote a popular work with three parts, Belmarsh, Wayland and North Sea Camp?

7 This Harvard graduate’s first academic book was the inspiration for a Broadway hit A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. His real blockbuster came with a story about two college students (one from his alma mater) in 1970. Name the first book or the author.

8 This insurance agency owner originally sold a script to the Naval Institute Press for $5,000 in 1982. Within a year the book made even US President Ronald Reagan’s understandably meagre reading list. What was the name of this 1982 bestseller that kick-started a career in military thrillers for the author?

9 If the Ballantyne series and the Old Egypt series are the second and third most popular series of a particular author, which particular family is the subject of his most popular series?

10 Gentleman thief Lester Leith and crusading lawyer Ken Corning are just some of the other characters created by this best-selling novelist. Who was the most famous creation of this author, who sometimes wrote using the pseudonym AA Fair?

Answers

1. A Stone For Danny Fisher, the story of a boxer in America during the Great Depression

2. Valley of the Dolls, authored by Jacqeline Susann

3. Wuxia, a genre dealing with martial arts and chivalry

4. A Time to Kill, published in 1989

5. James Patterson. More than 300 million books sold worldwide to date

6. Jeffrey Archer. He spent two years in prison for perjury between 2001 and 2003. The diaries chronicled his three prisons

7. Love Story, by Erich Segal, also the basis for a famous film of the same name

8. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

9. The Courtney series by Wilbur Smith

10. Perry Mason, created by Erle Stanley Gardner

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup

Follow Joy on Twitter @joybhattacharj

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