1. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...” Charles Dickens’s French revolution-set novel A Tale of Two Cities has one of the most famous opening lines in literature. But how does it continue?

   1. “It was the dawn of knowledge, it was the end of wisdom, it was the age of freedom, it was the age of imprisonment”

   2. “It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity”

   3. “It was the age of plenty, it was the age of hunger, it was a time of happiness, it was a time of misery”

   4. “It was a day for martyrs, it was a day for saints, it was the summer of light, it was the winter of darkness”

2. Which of these is not one of the amended Seven Commandments of Animalism, from George Orwell’s revolutionary fable Animal Farm?

   1. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others

   2. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets

   3. No animal shall wear clothes, unless they are cold

   4. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess

3. What are the inhabitants of the moon known as in Robert A Heinlein’s tale of a lunar colony’s revolt, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress?

   1. Dianians

   2. Aliens

   3. Artemisians

   4. Lunatics

4. Which British politician wrote A Very British Coup, in which MI5, the press and the City conspire to bring Labour prime minister Harry Perkins down?

   1. Edwina Currie

   2. Ann Widdecombe

   3. Chris Mullin

   4. Jeffrey Archer

5. What is the date of the revolution in Terry Pratchett’s Night Watch?

   1. 25 May

   2. 25 October

   3. 25 June

   4. 29 February

6. Who replaces Rufus Scrimgeour as Minister of Magic following Voldemort’s coup in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?

   1. Pius Thicknesse

   2. Cornelius Fudge

   3. Arnold Trumpkin

   4. Jonathan Strange

7. Who is depicted on the masks the revolutionary V wear in Alan Moore’s graphic novel about a totalitarian UK, V for Vendetta?

   1. Shakespeare

   2. Guy Fawkes

   3. Spiderman

   4. Margaret Thatcher

8. What is the name of the fictional African country which undergoes a coup d’etat in Frederick Forsyth’s The Dogs of War?

   1. Buranda

   2. Ishmaelia

   3. Kukuanaland

   4. Zangaro

9. Which revolutionaries are “right but repulsive”, according to 1066 and All That by WC Sellar and RJ Yeatman?

   1. The roundheads

   2. The peasants

   3. Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plotters

   4. The Confederates

10. “Take a good look at them so you can tell your grandchildren you saw the rear guard of the Glorious Cause in retreat.” Says who?

    1. Elphaba in Gregory Maguire’s Wicked

    2. Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind

    3. Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy’s Clear and Present Danger

    4. Cromwell in Elizabeth Goudge’s The Child From the Sea

Solutions

1:B, 2:C, 3:D, 4:C, 5:A, 6:A, 7:B, 8:D, 9:A, 10:B

Scores

1. 4 and above.

   Off with your head!

2. 7 and above.

   The revolutionary council is pondering your sentence.

3. 10 and above.

   You've had a lucky escape. Make haste for the coast.