Defining what constitutes The 20th Century Novel is a bit like eating jello with a fork. In an effort to solidify this MiniLeague (as an author) and make it more palatable (for the player), I'm using the following idiosyncratic definitions:

- A novel is an essentially fictional work, usually in prose, that is approximately the length of, well, a novel. (I will follow the lead of the 2007 Man Booker Prize committee, who, in short-listing Ian MacEwan's 166-page On Chesil Beach, pointed out that in some dictionaries novella is defined as "a short novel".) In other words, there will be no plays, short stories, essays, poems or works essentially of non-fiction in this MiniLeague; there may be works that quibblers would consider novellas, but they will be at least arguably of the import, and historical stature of novels.

- The 20th Century includes any four-digit year beginning with the digits 19.

- Unlike KarpM's excellent Victorian Novels ML, I will not limit myself only to works published in English. Novels originally written in other languages but which have been published in English are fair game.

I would describe this MiniLeague as A- on the Kosman Scale, and give it a ModKos rating of R: Restricted. By doing so, I am simply acknowledging that familiarity with the notable fictional prose works of the 20th Century requires some effort and dedication; not everyone who is interested in a general-knowledge trivia league (especially one simple enough for a cat to play) is expected to have extensive knowledge of the material in play here.

At the same time, this is not a diabolically hard attempt to separate the men/women from the boys/girls, the sheep from the goats, or the PhDs from the PwJs*. It would be nice to say that this is a Type B ML, but the subject - its breadth and depth - makes it impossible to do so.

That said, I do intend for the questions to be fun and interesting, covering many well-known works and authors you may have read in high school or college (or at least been assigned to read). If you have a particularly literate cat, for example, I encourage you to enter it in the competition.

The slate of questions below (with answers in white text following each question) is a representative sample (select over the area after the question to reveal the answer).

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The spaceship in the movie Alien is named for a novel by what author? JOSEPH CONRAD (NOSTROMO)

The title of The Crying of Lot 49 refers to what activity? AN AUCTION (OF A STAMP COLLECTION)

What property is shared by Ulysses by James Joyce, Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry, and Saul Bellow's Seize the Day? THEY EACH TAKE PLACE IN ONE 24-HOUR PERIOD

What novel ends "And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past"? THE GREAT GATSBY

This Oprah's Book Club bookmark gives character lists and descriptions for three Faulkner novels. Name two of the books. Click here AS I LAY DYING, THE SOUND AND THE FURY, LIGHT IN AUGUST

The Pulitzer Prize for the Novel (later renamed the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) broke the gender barrier early, with its third prize being awarded in 1921 to what woman? EDITH WHARTON

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*People With Jobs