Charles Dickens Quiz
Scrooge, Pip, Fagin and Micawber: 15 questions on the novels and hard knocks of Charles Dickens.
Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three spirits in which Dickens story?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
A Christmas Carol
Published in December 1843, A Christmas Carol follows the miser Scrooge through visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, which transform him overnight.
Dickens wrote the whole book in about six weeks and published it at his own expense after a quarrel with his publishers.
Which Dickens orphan famously holds out his bowl in the workhouse and says "Please, sir, I want some more"?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Oliver Twist
Oliver draws the short straw among the starving workhouse boys and has to ask the master for a second helping of gruel, a request that gets him sold off as an apprentice.
The novel was partly an attack on the 1834 Poor Law, which deliberately made workhouse life harsh enough to deter the poor from seeking help.
In A Christmas Carol, what is the name of Scrooge's dead business partner who returns as a ghost wrapped in chains?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Jacob Marley
Marley, dead seven years, appears on Christmas Eve dragging the chain he forged in life link by link and warns Scrooge that three spirits will follow.
The chain is made of cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers and steel purses, every item a symbol of the money Marley loved more than people.
Which underpaid clerk in A Christmas Carol is the father of Tiny Tim?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bob Cratchit
Bob Cratchit works for Scrooge for fifteen shillings a week in a freezing office, and his family's thin Christmas dinner is what finally pierces his employer's heart.
Tiny Tim's closing blessing, "God bless us, every one", became one of the most quoted lines in English fiction.
The jilted Miss Havisham, who stopped every clock and still wears her wedding dress, appears in which novel?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Great Expectations
Abandoned on her wedding morning, Miss Havisham lives among the rotting remains of her wedding feast at Satis House and raises Estella to break men's hearts.
Dickens first wrote a sad ending in which Pip and Estella part for good, then changed it after a friend urged a more hopeful close.
What is the name of the young narrator of Great Expectations?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Pip
Philip Pirrip, who could only pronounce his name as Pip when he was small, tells the story of his rise from a blacksmith's forge to a gentleman's life in London.
The convict Magwitch, whom Pip helps in the marshes as a boy, turns out to be the secret source of his fortune.
Which two cities give A Tale of Two Cities its title?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
London and Paris
The novel moves between London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, ending with Sydney Carton going to the guillotine in another man's place.
With well over 200 million copies estimated to have been sold, it is often cited as one of the best selling novels ever written.
In Oliver Twist, who runs the den of child pickpockets that Oliver falls in with in London?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Fagin
Fagin trains boys including the Artful Dodger to pick pockets and takes the proceeds, and his final night in the condemned cell is one of the novel's most powerful scenes.
Dickens later softened the character's description in response to complaints about antisemitism, removing many references to him as the Jew.
Which of his own novels did Dickens describe as his "favourite child"?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
David Copperfield
In the preface to the 1867 edition he wrote that, like many fond parents, he had a favourite child in his heart of hearts and his name was David Copperfield.
The novel draws directly on Dickens's own youth, and its initials, D.C., reverse his own.
Under which pen name did Dickens publish his first collection of sketches in 1836?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Boz
Sketches by Boz collected the short pieces he had written for newspapers and magazines, and he kept the name for the early instalments of The Pickwick Papers.
Boz grew out of his nickname for his younger brother Augustus, whom he called Moses, pronounced through the nose as Boses and then shortened.
Which cheerfully broke character in David Copperfield is always sure that "something will turn up"?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mr Micawber
Wilkins Micawber, forever in debt and forever optimistic, takes young David in as a lodger and is widely thought to be modelled on Dickens's own improvident father.
His rule that spending a penny less than your income means happiness, and a penny more means misery, is still quoted as the Micawber principle.
The endless court case Jarndyce and Jarndyce is at the centre of which Dickens novel?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bleak House
The Chancery suit over a disputed will drags on for generations in Bleak House until legal costs swallow the entire estate, Dickens's attack on a slow and corrupt legal system.
The novel is also credited with introducing one of the first detectives in English fiction, Inspector Bucket.
What kind of factory was the twelve year old Dickens sent to work in while his father was in a debtors' prison?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
A boot blacking factory
At Warren's Blacking by the Thames he pasted labels onto pots of shoe polish for ten hours a day, an experience he kept secret from almost everyone until after his death.
His father John was held in the Marshalsea prison, which Dickens later used as the setting for Little Dorrit.
In which English city was Charles Dickens born in 1812?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Portsmouth
Dickens was born in Landport, Portsmouth, where his father worked as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, and the family moved to Kent and then London while he was still a boy.
His birthplace is now a museum, and the couch on which he died at Gad's Hill in 1870 is displayed there.
Which novel was left unfinished, its central mystery unsolved, when Dickens died in 1870?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Dickens had written six of the planned twelve monthly instalments when he suffered a stroke on 8 June 1870 and died the next day, leaving no notes on how the story would end.
A 1985 Broadway musical lets the audience vote each night on who murdered Edwin Drood.
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All Literature quizzes →About the Charles Dickens Quiz
Charles Dickens was the first true literary celebrity. His novels were published in monthly instalments that crowds queued for, A Christmas Carol sold out its first printing in six days, and his reading tours filled halls on both sides of the Atlantic. Behind the fame was a boy who had pasted labels in a boot blacking factory at twelve while his father sat in a debtors' prison.
These 15 questions start with the characters everyone meets at school, from Scrooge and Tiny Tim to Oliver asking for more, then dig into his pen name, his childhood and the mystery he left unsolved when he died. It suits readers, film fans and anyone who knows a Dickensian situation when they see one.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
Which Charles Dickens novel is the easiest to start with?
A Christmas Carol is short and familiar, while Great Expectations is the most popular full length starting point thanks to its pace and its unforgettable cast.
How many novels did Dickens write?
He completed fourteen novels and left a fifteenth, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, half finished when he died in 1870.
Does this quiz include questions about Dickens's life?
Yes. About a third of the questions cover his birthplace, his childhood and his career, so biography fans have an edge.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three spirits in which Dickens story?
A Christmas Carol Published in December 1843, A Christmas Carol follows the miser Scrooge through visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, which transform him overnight. Dickens wrote the whole book in about six weeks and published it at his own expense after a quarrel with his publishers. - Which Dickens orphan famously holds out his bowl in the workhouse and says "Please, sir, I want some more"?
Oliver Twist Oliver draws the short straw among the starving workhouse boys and has to ask the master for a second helping of gruel, a request that gets him sold off as an apprentice. The novel was partly an attack on the 1834 Poor Law, which deliberately made workhouse life harsh enough to deter the poor from seeking help. - In A Christmas Carol, what is the name of Scrooge's dead business partner who returns as a ghost wrapped in chains?
Jacob Marley Marley, dead seven years, appears on Christmas Eve dragging the chain he forged in life link by link and warns Scrooge that three spirits will follow. The chain is made of cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers and steel purses, every item a symbol of the money Marley loved more than people. - Which underpaid clerk in A Christmas Carol is the father of Tiny Tim?
Bob Cratchit Bob Cratchit works for Scrooge for fifteen shillings a week in a freezing office, and his family's thin Christmas dinner is what finally pierces his employer's heart. Tiny Tim's closing blessing, "God bless us, every one", became one of the most quoted lines in English fiction. - The jilted Miss Havisham, who stopped every clock and still wears her wedding dress, appears in which novel?
Great Expectations Abandoned on her wedding morning, Miss Havisham lives among the rotting remains of her wedding feast at Satis House and raises Estella to break men's hearts. Dickens first wrote a sad ending in which Pip and Estella part for good, then changed it after a friend urged a more hopeful close. - What is the name of the young narrator of Great Expectations?
Pip Philip Pirrip, who could only pronounce his name as Pip when he was small, tells the story of his rise from a blacksmith's forge to a gentleman's life in London. The convict Magwitch, whom Pip helps in the marshes as a boy, turns out to be the secret source of his fortune. - Which two cities give A Tale of Two Cities its title?
London and Paris The novel moves between London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, ending with Sydney Carton going to the guillotine in another man's place. With well over 200 million copies estimated to have been sold, it is often cited as one of the best selling novels ever written. - In Oliver Twist, who runs the den of child pickpockets that Oliver falls in with in London?
Fagin Fagin trains boys including the Artful Dodger to pick pockets and takes the proceeds, and his final night in the condemned cell is one of the novel's most powerful scenes. Dickens later softened the character's description in response to complaints about antisemitism, removing many references to him as the Jew. - Which of his own novels did Dickens describe as his "favourite child"?
David Copperfield In the preface to the 1867 edition he wrote that, like many fond parents, he had a favourite child in his heart of hearts and his name was David Copperfield. The novel draws directly on Dickens's own youth, and its initials, D.C., reverse his own. - Under which pen name did Dickens publish his first collection of sketches in 1836?
Boz Sketches by Boz collected the short pieces he had written for newspapers and magazines, and he kept the name for the early instalments of The Pickwick Papers. Boz grew out of his nickname for his younger brother Augustus, whom he called Moses, pronounced through the nose as Boses and then shortened. - Which cheerfully broke character in David Copperfield is always sure that "something will turn up"?
Mr Micawber Wilkins Micawber, forever in debt and forever optimistic, takes young David in as a lodger and is widely thought to be modelled on Dickens's own improvident father. His rule that spending a penny less than your income means happiness, and a penny more means misery, is still quoted as the Micawber principle. - The endless court case Jarndyce and Jarndyce is at the centre of which Dickens novel?
Bleak House The Chancery suit over a disputed will drags on for generations in Bleak House until legal costs swallow the entire estate, Dickens's attack on a slow and corrupt legal system. The novel is also credited with introducing one of the first detectives in English fiction, Inspector Bucket. - What kind of factory was the twelve year old Dickens sent to work in while his father was in a debtors' prison?
A boot blacking factory At Warren's Blacking by the Thames he pasted labels onto pots of shoe polish for ten hours a day, an experience he kept secret from almost everyone until after his death. His father John was held in the Marshalsea prison, which Dickens later used as the setting for Little Dorrit. - In which English city was Charles Dickens born in 1812?
Portsmouth Dickens was born in Landport, Portsmouth, where his father worked as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, and the family moved to Kent and then London while he was still a boy. His birthplace is now a museum, and the couch on which he died at Gad's Hill in 1870 is displayed there. - Which novel was left unfinished, its central mystery unsolved, when Dickens died in 1870?
The Mystery of Edwin Drood Dickens had written six of the planned twelve monthly instalments when he suffered a stroke on 8 June 1870 and died the next day, leaving no notes on how the story would end. A 1985 Broadway musical lets the audience vote each night on who murdered Edwin Drood.
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