Books: A question of fiction

Win an entire library of great writing from Penguin Modern Classics. Quiz compiled by Boyd Tonkin

Celebrate an extraordinary era of great literature with the Independent/ Penguin Modern Classics "Century of Fiction" Quiz. The winner will receive all of the 81 titles that, from February 2000, will launch the re-edited and stylishly re-designed Penguin Modern Classics imprint. The works in the new list range from Martin Amis's Money to Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita; from Italo Calvino's Italian Folktales to Colette's Gigi; from Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange to Anais Nin's Delta of Venus; from Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to John Wyndham's The Chrysalids - a unique library of the finest writing from the 20th century, to inspire you as the 21st begins.

To enter, identify the author and title of the works referred to below - one for each year of the 20th century. All are works of fiction in English (although not necessarily from the UK) which were first published in book form in the relevant year. No author appears more than once. And the questions for 1900 and 1999 are deliberately identical.

The closing date is 14 January.

1900: An erring professional is wrecked by a tribunal, then seeks redemption far from home.

1901: A would-be writer fails to sparkle, and ends up back at Possum Gully.

1902: One small hero comes close to a "musky, tusky mouth"; and another walks by himself.

1903: Carruthers of the FO solves the enigma and spies an invasion.

1904: A late-flowering Rose finds that his road does lead to Rome.

1905: It's no laughing matter when faded Lily takes a sedative.

1906: A life with few perks ends with the family back on track.

1907: A young naturalist evolves away from the Brethren who hate Christmas.

1908: An amphibian rejects the joy of "messing about in boats" for the perils of the road.

1909: A suburban suffragette discovers in jail that "a man scores always, everywhere".

1910: Goblins take a symphonic walk "quietly over the universe from end to end".

1911: The daughter of Judas makes even stone heads turn.

1912: A fiddler and his lover find discord on the Isle of Wight.

1913: Ground-breaking Swedes reap a bitter harvest in Nebraska.

1914: This "chapter in the moral history of my country" ends in a general fall of snow.

1915: A "tale of passion" shows the superlatively sad end of a once-harmonious quartet.

1916: A Biblical testament looks on the bright side with a Christ who survives the Cross.

1917: Not far from Naples, eccentric expats shoot the breeze.

1918: More artistic expats have a sticky time at a Parisian ball.

1919: After almost 30 invisible years, "an elderly man of 42" re-enters Socierty (sic).

1920: Her first outing puts the queen of Riseholme on the map.

1921: A patriarch of art and property refuses to sell out.

1922: The ageless outlaw simply appears for his first scrapes.

1923: Life in a downtrodden bit of east-central London, which later jumped back into fashion.

1924: A tongue-tied young sailor resurfaces after 33 lost years.

1925: A mobile cast of characters take bites out of the Big Apple.

1926: A trip to the Pole fails, and excess sweetness produces a jam.

1927: St Ives becomes Hebrides as an artist illuminates the past.

1928: The British Freemen spout views tantamount to Fascism.

1929: At his zenith, a US tycoon discovers what Europe's worth.

1930: The Walkers and the Blacketts cast off on the Lakes.

1931: Feeble Popeye grows into a monster but finds no hiding-place.

1932: A nasty Doom afflicts the family - and purple prose receives three stars.

1933: The cross-dressing country gent overlooks his moustache.

1934: The stutterer with the relatives from hell stands on his own two feet.

1935: A Ninth Earl and Empress hold court at the old pile.

1936: A slightly jaundiced view of Bottle Green, and the Lion Aunt.

1937: The small voyager from Bag End has awfully big adventures.

1938: Last night's dream leads to death by water and ordeal by fire.

1939: Stranded in fog, pleasure-seeking socialites miss the boat.

1940: Jordan explosively comes to the river, but at a bridge too far.

1941: Maidenhead is revisited, after a click in Brighton.

1942: Satan drops twisted lines about the other fellow's tunes.

1943: What makes scientific Sammy run? Not much, but he shuts the door on his fears.

1944: An artist preys on the gullible but ends up a fool for love.

1945: Arcadia never returns, despite twitches on the thread.

1946: Utopia never comes to Galilee, despite the exiles' return.

1947: On the Day of the Dead, simmering souls prepare to erupt.

1948: An Oriental seeker after truth tries to find a hat that fits.

1949: A lottery, "with its weekly pay-out of enormous prizes", gives millions a reason to exist.

1950: A not-so-ordinary Joe wants to liven up the dreary scene.

1951: A spooky sort of bombshell puts a stop to passion in the Blitz.

1952: Large "beans" unwittingly co-habit with a little Pod.

1953: A likely lad marches far away from the Windy City.

1954: Jake's thing is philosophy; Magdalen gets him in a tangle.

1955: Unholy romps at Trinity mean danger for a member.

1956: A dig into the past unearths some old English delusions.

1957: A new type of journey leads right back to Paradise.

1958: Bastards grind you down as weekend fun stops at the lathe.

1959: The PM of Ambrosia proves very economical with the truth.

1960: Rural nuns reject a pair whom city roues then pursue.

1961: Can Sweden offer refuge from the island of insanity?

1962: The ardent editor seems to put a poet in the shade.

1963: Divided loyalties create a hot spot in the new ice age.

1964: A builder aims to defy gravity, but finally comes to grief.

1965: African thinkers (and drinkers) fail to translate their ideals into reality.

1966: Set free at last, a Creole voice carries across the ocean.

1967: An orphan refuses to play puppet in a wicked Flower's show.

1968: A high-flying predator proves tamer than kith and kin.

1969: A figure on the Cobb leaves the hero (and the plot) all at sea.

1970: Ram wrecks his bus but fails to set the island on fire.

1971: A burning cause celebre leads a son into the lion's den.

1972: Dodging danger by a whisker, Fiver and co go forth.

1973: Mangled metal makes twisted libidos move up a gear.

1974: Strife on campus and at home disrupts the life of Brian.

1975: A granddaughter looks back at torrid times under the Raj.

1976: A century on, the scandals of DC look very much the same.

1977: Stubborn old Tusker stands his ground in Smith's Hotel.

1978: Rose blooms along the rocky road that finishes on TV.

1979: Up the creek with the Big Man, an exile can't go home.

1980: Bim cultivates her lucid memories within the Civil Lines.

1981: 581 independent-minded wizards suffer the unkindest cut.

1982: Brothers have ups and downs on the edge of dark Wales.

1983: History proves slippery for a teacher bogged in the past.

1984: The devil works his magic on a trio of suburban divorcees.

1985: A Bible-bashed daughter acquires new tastes and abandons the missionary position.

1986: Opium habits mean new owners for the fragrant harbour.

1987: The Master of the Universe sees his life go up in smoke.

1988: A gambler repeats the childhood of 1907, before seeking a better deal Down Under.

1989: All the arrows point towards a murderer (and a murderee).

1990: A race against time in Belfast reveals secret Troubles.

1991: A school-bus smash almost sours a town's future.

1992: Occult snobs get deadly serious about Dionysus.

1993: At some length, the girl makes an apt choice.

1994: An insular kind of war fails to stop the military's music.

1995: A three-part war ends with a phantom menace still at large.

1996: The unsinkable class system finally hits the rocks.

1997: The Giants and little guys dodge the dangers of the Bomb.

1998: A lethal, if restricted, couple never sits on their fences.

1999: An erring professional is wrecked by a tribunal, then seeks redemption far from home.

Send your entries by FRIDAY 14 JANUARY 2000 to `Century of Fiction Quiz', Books Department, `The Independent', 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E.14 5DL.

The winner will be the first correct entry, or the most nearly correct entry, opened then. Answers on 22 January.

All normal `Independent' competition rules apply.

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