Q 01/05

Under which fictional ship's surgeon's name did Swift publish his 1726 masterpiece?

A) Lemuel Gulliver

B) Tristram Shandy

C) Robinson Crusoe

D) Martinus Scriblerus

Answer · why

A) Lemuel Gulliver

The book was an immediate hit, with three printings in its first year.

Q 02/05

In which year was Swift born, about seven months after his father's death?

A) 1657

B) 1667

C) 1677

D) 1687

Answer · why

B) 1667

He was born on 30 November in Dublin.

Q 03/05

Swift was appointed dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, in which year?

A) 1699

B) 1704

C) 1713

D) 1726

Answer · why

C) 1713

The post earned him the sobriquet Dean Swift.

Q 04/05

What did Swift's 1729 essay A Modest Proposal suggest the Irish poor do to escape poverty?

A) Sell their children as food to the rich

B) Emigrate en masse to the American colonies

C) Convert to the Protestant faith

D) Refuse to pay rent to absentee landlords

Answer · why

A) Sell their children as food to the rich

It is one of the most famous works of Juvenalian satire ever written.

Q 05/05

Swift is credited with inventing which popular woman's name through a poem?

A) Wendy

B) Fiona

C) Pamela

D) Vanessa

Answer · why

D) Vanessa

He built it from Van, the start of Esther Vanhomrigh's surname, and Essa, a pet form of Esther.