It’s the birth anniversary of Hector Hugo Munro, better known by his pen name Saki, one of the finest craftsmen of the short story. This quiz is all about that literary genre
1. In 2013, who became the first writer of only short stories to win the Nobel Prize for Literature? Her collections include Dance of the Happy Shades and Runaway.
2. According to his 1991 letter to the Canadian humourist John Robert Colombo, who did science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke claim was the author of the legendary six word story –‘For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn.’
3. Which well-known author coined the term ‘interactive twovel’ for an experiment where he collaborated with his twitter followers to weave together a story titled ‘Hearts, Keys and Puppetry?
4. Which extremely well-known author started the ‘Dollar Baby’ or ‘Dollar Deal’ where aspiring filmmakers or theatre producers were allowed to adapt one of his short stories for a token fee of a dollar. This author’s short stories have been adapted for many cult classics.
5. Which classic short story describes the thoughts of a mild-mannered man who drives with his wife into Waterbury, Connecticut for shopping and then hangs around while his wife visits a beauty parlour?
6. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 horror film Birds was adapted from a short story written by which well-known British writer, a part of her collection, The Apple Tree?’
7. Which moving short story is set a few years after partition in 1947 and tells the tale of a Sikh inmate of a lunatic asylum in Lahore who is being repatriated to India?
8. Which story starts with a certain Della Young discovering that she has just $ 1.87 for a Christmas present for her husband?
9. John Ford’s epic film Stagecoach is an adaptation of the 1937 short story ‘The Stage to Lordsburg,’ by Ernest Haydock. But Ford himself claimed that it was also inspired by the 19th century classic, Boule de Suif . Which literary great was the author of Boule de Suif ?
10. Master director Satyajit Ray made two stories based on the stories of Munshi Premchand. One was the short film ‘Sadgati,’ made for Doordarshan. Which was the other?
Answers
1. Alice Munro
2. Ernest Hemingway. While this is widely believed, there is no direct evidence connecting him to the story
3. Neil Gaiman. The author mentioned was ‘Neil Gaiman & Twitterverse’
4. Stephen King. His short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption was adapted to make the classic film.
5. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
6. Daphne De Maurier
7. Toba Tek Singh, one of Saadat Hassan Manto’s most famous short stories
8. The Gift of the Magi by O’Henry
9. The French writer Guy de Maupassant
10. ShatranjKeKhilari, based on the Premchand story of the same name