Final Jeopardy: 19th Century Literature (7-3-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (7/3/2026) in the category “19th Century Literature” was:
In this novel, a murderer tells the title character a story that he in turn tells a ship captain in the Arctic
New champ Caleb Groen, a law & policy student orig. from Thousand Oaks, CA, won $13,199 yesterday. In Game 2, his challengers are: Derek Vance, a community foundation program officer orig. from Poca, WV; and strong>Amber Born, an economic analyst & comedian from Queens, NY.
Round 1 Categories: Crimefighters – A.I. Buzzwords – Steinbeck – Let Us Sing of Biopics – Condiments – The City Once Known as…
Derek found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Steinbeck” under the $800 on the 11th pick of the round. He was in second place with $2,200 now, $400 less than Caleb and Amber, who were tied for the lead. Derek made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.
This novella says certain gems “were accidents, & the finding of one was luck, a little pat on the back by God” show
Derek finished in the lead with $6,800. Caleb was in second place with $5,800. Amber was last with $5,000. All clues were shown. Before Double Jeopardy! began, a reversal (see below) increased Derek’s lead to $7,200.
Round 2 Categories: America in 1976 – Around the House – Animal Facts – Alliteration – 2010s TV – A Category Bulging with Information
Caleb got the first Daily Double in “A Category Bulging with Information” under the $1,600 clue on the 12th pick of the round. He was in second place with $10,200 now, $1,600 less than Amber’s lead. Caleb bet $4,000 and he was RIGHT.
The German goal in the Battle of the Bulge was this Belgian port on the Scheldt River; they advanced 60 miles, less than halfway show
On the very next pick, Caleb got the last Daily Double in “Alliteration” under the $2,000 clue. In the lead with $14,200, he had $2,400 more than Amber in second place. Caleb bet $5,000 and he was RIGHT.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr is not a fan of this doctrine that internet cos. must treat & charge all content providers the same show
Caleb finished in the lead with a runaway $24,000. Amber was in second place with $13,800. Derek was last with $7,600. All clues were shown.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS “FRANKENSTEIN”?
In the 19th century, the British were obsessed with finding the Northwest Passage first, so it should be no surprise to modern readers that Mary Shelley put a fictional Arctic explorer, Robert Walton, in “Frankenstein” (1818). After his 8′ tall murderous creation vows more homicidal revenge for being condemned to a pariah’s life, Victor Frankenstein chases the monster over land and sea, winding up half-dead in the Artic. Rescued by Robert Walton, Frankenstein tells his story to the explorer. Walton serves as a reflection of Victor Frankenstein in a “pursuit of glory at great cost” sense.
Fictional Robert Walton didn’t find the Northwest Passage. In 1854, 36 years after “Frankenstein” was published, the McClure Arctic expedition was credited with being first to discover and transit the Northwest Passage.
Derek thought it was “Billy Budd”. He lost $6,201 and finished with $1,399.
Amber didn’t quite finish writing “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, not that it mattered. She lost $13,799 and was left with $1.00.
Caleb went with “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. He lost $6,000 but won the game with the remaining $18,000. Caleb’s 2-day total is $31,199.
Reversal: ($200) An A.I. one of these software tools can act on your behalf to perform tasks; you may have “met” a customer service one online – Derek’s “bot” response was initially rejected. Caleb got it with “agent” but the judges decided to accept “bot” and gave Derek back $400.
A triple stumper from each round:
LET US SING OF BIOPICS ($1000) Punk before “Punk’d”, Gary Oldman did it his way as this British sort-of-singer
A CATEGORY BULGING WITH INFORMATION ($2000) Abdominal cramps or more severe pain may signal that bulges in weak areas of your colon are causing this ailment
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “WORLD LANGUAGES”
The flag of Aruba features a 4-pointed star symbolizing its 4 major languages: the local Papiamento & these 3 imported ones show
IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS FOR CHANGES TO THE SHOW OR COMPLAINTS, PLEASE SEND YOUR FEEDBACK DIRECTLY TO JEOPARDY!
We may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made from Amazon.com links at no cost to our visitors. Learn more: Affiliate Disclosure.


There are allusions to The Ancient Mariner (and other works) in “Frankenstein” — Here’s one:
“I am going to unexplored regions, to “the land of mist and snow;” but I shall kill no albatross….”
Actually Caleb didn’t have the game locked up before Final. Amber is still within reach of him. Speaking of Amber, I hope she gets invited back to Second Chance next season since she had 24 correct. I hope you have a Happy 4th of July VJ.
Thank you, Kevin, I wish the same for you and everyone!