Nero Wolfe's World Trivia Quiz

Answer: Egypt

Wolfe alluded to this house once, and mentioned one or two times that he spent time in Egypt when he was younger and more mobile, but not much else is revealed to the reader about the house in Egypt, or what Wolfe did there.

Answer: Doc Vollmer, MD

Doc Vollmer was within shouting distance (at one point it's said their homes were 60 yards apart) of Wolfe's house, very handy when clients or detectives needed a sedative or some stitching up! Wolfe appeared to like the doctor, who sometimes stayed for a drink after finishing his work.

Answer: Lard

"I overate of it in my youth, and the smell sickens me," Wolfe said, by way of explaining why he would not eat lard. He was addressing a farmer in Montenegro at the time. Wolfe and Archie, seeking a murderer, had entered Montenegro illegally and slept in the farmer's haystack the night before. Wolfe was negotiating with the farmer for some breakfast.

Answer: It's never revealed.

It's never revealed whether Wolfe had a single preferred brand or if he had several favorites. He once did a beer-tasting experiment, sending Archie all over the city for various brands, and expressed surprised pleasure that several of the domestic beers were pretty good.

Answer: It was all male. Wolfe had complicated feelings about females.

Fritz Brenner, Theodore Horstmann, Archie Goodwin, and Wolfe lived in the old brownstone and did quite well without any female assistance.

Answer: The dictionary

Wolfe spent a considerable time tearing sheafs of pages from the dictionary and throwing them on the fire. When his client asked about this, he said, "Do you use 'infer' and 'imply' interchangeably?" She said no. Wolfe replied that the dictionary in question said one might, so he was destroying it. (Hear, hear!)

Wolfe also made it clear several times that the word "contact" should not be used as a verb.

Answer: One could monitor proceedings in the office through it if standing outside in the hall.

In the hallway leading to the kitchen was an alcove, which held a small panel that could be slid aside to view and listen to what was being said in the office. This peephole was used many times over the course of Wolfe's career. It was just large enough for two people each to get one eye in front of it at the same time.

Answer: Pushing his lips in and out, in and out, while leaning back in his chair with eyes closed.

When Wolfe closed his eyes and started the lip action, it was a signal to Archie that he'd found something to chew on, a piece of the puzzle that was going to get them closer to solving it. Archie never disturbed Wolfe when he was in one of these trances.

Answer: 2

Marko Vukcic was Wolfe's closest friend. After Marko was murdered, Wolfe and Archie were forced to head to Montenegro to find the killer. On the way they met Wolfe's other friend, Paolo Telesio, in Italy. He found a place for Archie and Wolfe to stay for the night and a boat to take them across the Adriatic to Montenegro.

They shared several bottles of wine and many personal memories that night--all in a foreign tongue which Archie didn't understand, so we never learn what was said.

Answer: Exhibited them in competitions at shows and fairs

Wolfe occasionally headed off (with Archie driving, of course) to competitive exhibitions, which his plants usually won. At least two of these excursions ended up landing a case in Wolfe's lap.

Answer: Yellow

Wolfe had a affinity for the color yellow. He wore two canary-yellow shirts each day, changing the first when it lost its freshness. Two of the three chairs in his office were yellow. He even wore yellow silk pajamas, making quite a sight, given his girth!

Answer: About 285 pounds

It is noted a number of times that Wolfe weighed a seventh of a ton, or about 285 pounds. He had to have his office chairs custom-made, and when he was out of the house (which, thankfully, wasn't often) Archie often had to scramble to snag the largest chair available for his boss to use.

In one book Wolfe lost massive amounts of weight to disguise himself from an adversary; however, as soon as the case ended, he and Fritz went to work restoring the lost poundage. As Archie said, "He's my favorite fatty."

Answer: He had a daughter.

Wolfe adopted a daughter in the misty past in Montenegro. She turned up in New York and got him embroiled in a case. Her name was Carla, and when she first appeared as a character, she was teaching fencing.

Answer: Wolfe retreated into books, orchids and beer (and cooking with Fritz), and refused to discuss work.

Wolfe's relapses could occur at any time without warning and last anywhere from a day to several weeks. During a relapse he would not discuss a current case and couldn't be badgered into it. Relapses drove Archie nuts, He considered it one of his most important job duties to snap Wolfe out of a relapse, but he couldn't always manage it.

Answer: Traveling in a car

Wolfe termed automobiles "infernal machines" and maintained that they were subject to whims. He was never at ease in a moving vehicle. He did tolerate Archie's driving him, but was still on tenterhooks whenever the car was in motion. Once, when they blew a tire and bumped off the road into a tree, Wolfe gave thanks because finally the accident he'd been expecting for years had happened and no one was killed.

Answer: Montenegro

Wolfe was born in a house high in the mountains of Montenegro, situated on a landscape of rock and not much else. He never gave details of how he got from Montenegro to the US, but he referred often to "youthful gestes", and to being much more mobile before giving in to his love of food and gaining many pounds.

Answer: Worked in Army Intelligence

Wolfe abhorred Hitler and the Nazi movement. There is not much detail given about his efforts in Intelligence, but it appears that he got to stay home much of the time while involved in it.

Answer: A warning alarm outside Wolfe's room

There were good locks on the doors--Rabsons--but Wolfe also had a warning device that he activated each night when he retired. While operational, the device sounded a loud gong if anyone approached within several feet of Wolfe's room.

Answer: Dining out

Wolf dined at Rusterman's, a swanky restaurant owned by his friend Marko Vukcic, once a month, until Marko was murdered. After that Wolfe served as executor of the estate and as such, he began going to the restaurant weekly to check up on things.

Answer: Reading

Wolfe was a voracious reader. He often had several books going at the same time. He had a rating system for his books: the best ones got a bookmark made of a thin strip of gold to hold his place, but really bad books had their pages dog-eared. Archie never did figure out what measures Wolfe used to judge a book.