1997 MIT Mystery Hunt Puzzle 35 Solution

The pastiches are of the beginnings of the following chapters of well-known novels:

• Ivanhoe, Chapter 4
• Around the World in Eighty Days, Chapter 4
• Lord of the Flies, Chapter 7
• The Hobbit, Chapter 9
• Wuthering Heights, Chapter 12
• Gone with the Wind, Chapter 4
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Chapter 13

Using the chapter numbers to index into the titles gives the answer, NUTTIER.