Q 01/05

In what year was The Hobbit published?

A) 1937

B) 1945

C) 1954

D) 1962

Answer · why

A) 1937

It was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and won a New York Herald Tribune prize for juvenile fiction.

Q 02/05

How many dwarves accompany Bilbo and Gandalf on the quest to the Lonely Mountain?

A) Nine

B) Thirteen

C) Seven

D) Twelve

Answer · why

B) Thirteen

Thorin's Company sets out to reclaim their treasure from the dragon Smaug.

Q 03/05

The Lord of the Rings was published in three volumes for what reason?

A) Paper rationing law

B) Tolkien wanted a trilogy

C) Economics

D) The publisher lost the manuscript

Answer · why

C) Economics

Tolkien meant it as one volume paired with The Silmarillion.

Q 04/05

Roughly how many copies has The Lord of the Rings sold?

A) Over 150 million

B) About 50 million

C) About 90 million

D) Over 300 million

Answer · why

A) Over 150 million

It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949 and translated into at least 38 languages.

Q 05/05

Where was J. R. R. Tolkien born?

A) Leeds, England

B) Birmingham, England

C) Oxford, England

D) Bloemfontein, South Africa

Answer · why

D) Bloemfontein, South Africa

He later held the Rawlinson and Bosworth chair of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford.