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Quiz about The Mystery Novels of Dame Ngaio Marsh
Quiz about The Mystery Novels of Dame Ngaio Marsh

The Mystery Novels of Dame Ngaio Marsh Quiz

Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982), along with Dorothy L Sayers, Margery Allingham, and Agatha Christie, was one of the Queens of Crime of mid-20th century detective fiction. She wrote more than 30 novels featuring Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn.

A multiple-choice quiz by Macjaq. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Macjaq
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
329,774
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
207
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Ngaio Marsh's detective novels feature the aristocratic policeman, Chief Inspector (later Superintendent) Roderick Alleyn. Alleyn's talented wife, Agatha Troy, also appears in many of the stories. Where did Alleyn and Troy first meet? Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. Although Chief Inspector Alleyn is based in London at Scotland Yard, not all the novels are set in the United Kingdom. In 'Colour Scheme' (1943) Alleyn investigates a macabre murder at a mineral springs resort in which southern hemisphere country? Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. Ngaio Marsh's 'Tied up in Tinsel' (1972) and Agatha Christie's 'Cards on the Table' (1936) both feature wealthy men with an unusual hobby. What do both Hilary Bill-Tasman and Mr Shaitana collect? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. In 'Swing, Brother, Swing' (1949) an eccentric middle-aged peer, Lord Pastern and Bagott, decides to become a jazz musician, to his wife's dismay. What other enthusiasms have his long-suffering family had to endure? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. In 'Dead Water', Roderick Alleyn finds himself in a Cornish island community which is experiencing a tourism boom. What is attracting visitors to the island? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. Roderick Alleyn joined the police force after a brief spell in the British Foreign Office. What is the profession or occupation of his rather boring older brother, George? Hint


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Question 7 of 10
7. In a 1968 Ngaio Marsh novel, the action centres on a group of people touring English waterways by narrow-boat. A landscape painting is discovered in a junk shop by one of the travellers and appears to be the work of which English artist? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. The novel 'Died in the Wool' (1945) centres on the murder of the formidable Florence (Flossie) Rubrick in the high country of New Zealand's South Island. What is Mrs Rubrick's occupation? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. Chief Inspector Alleyn consults a rare work on trout when solving a fishy crime involving a cat named Thomasina Twitchett and a bitter feud between two anglers. What is the title of this 1955 novel? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. Ngaio Marsh was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (the female equivalent of a knighthood) in 1966. Her contribution to which creative field led to this honour? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Ngaio Marsh's detective novels feature the aristocratic policeman, Chief Inspector (later Superintendent) Roderick Alleyn. Alleyn's talented wife, Agatha Troy, also appears in many of the stories. Where did Alleyn and Troy first meet?

Answer: On an ocean liner off Fiji

 Alleyn and Troy meet in 'Artists in Crime' (1938) on the boat deck of a ship docked at Suva, Fiji. Troy, a renowned painter, is sketching the scene on the nearby wharf. Alleyn is escaping from a flirtatious fellow passenger.
2. Although Chief Inspector Alleyn is based in London at Scotland Yard, not all the novels are set in the United Kingdom. In 'Colour Scheme' (1943) Alleyn investigates a macabre murder at a mineral springs resort in which southern hemisphere country?

Answer: New Zealand

 'Colour Scheme' is set in Wai-ata-tapu, a fictional area of hot springs and boiling mud pools in Northland, New Zealand, probably based on the thermal region and small resort near Waiwera ('hot water') north of Auckland. Tourists began visiting New Zealand's thermal areas in the 19th century. The most popular destination was Rotorua, along with other parts of the central North Island's volcanic plateau.

Other novels set in Ngaio Marsh's home country of New Zealand are 'Vintage Murder' (1937), 'Died in the Wool' (1945) and 'Photo Finish' (1980).
3. Ngaio Marsh's 'Tied up in Tinsel' (1972) and Agatha Christie's 'Cards on the Table' (1936) both feature wealthy men with an unusual hobby. What do both Hilary Bill-Tasman and Mr Shaitana collect?

Answer: Murderers

 Hilary Bill-Tasman in 'Tied up in Tinsel' has assembled a household staff composed of convicted killers. In 'Cards on the Table', Mr Shaitana 'collects' dinner guests he believes to have committed murder and evaded detection.
4. In 'Swing, Brother, Swing' (1949) an eccentric middle-aged peer, Lord Pastern and Bagott, decides to become a jazz musician, to his wife's dismay. What other enthusiasms have his long-suffering family had to endure?

Answer: Nudism, Voodoo, free love

 His Lordship's suggestion that his wife 'promenade without costume, behind laurel hedges in the Weald of Kent' placed some strain on their marriage and Lady Pastern and Bagott began divorce proceedings when he became obsessed with the doctrine of free love.

The divorce petition fell through, however, when the court heard that his devotion to the cause was limited to giving 'innumerable lectures' on the subject. ('Swing, Brother, Swing' (1949))
5. In 'Dead Water', Roderick Alleyn finds himself in a Cornish island community which is experiencing a tourism boom. What is attracting visitors to the island?

Answer: Reports of miracle cures at a waterfall

 A local boy's unexplained cure at the waterfall (subsequently renamed Pixie Falls) has led to the development of the area as a small-scale Lourdes, though with pre-Christian overtones.
6. Roderick Alleyn joined the police force after a brief spell in the British Foreign Office. What is the profession or occupation of his rather boring older brother, George?

Answer: Diplomat

 'Sir George Alleyn: tall, handsome, ambassadorial and entirely predictable...Alleyn always found him a bit of an ass.' ('Black as He's Painted' (1974)). As the eldest son, Sir George inherited the Baronetcy on the death of their father. References in the novels suggest he was employed in the Foreign Office for some years and was regularly posted abroad.
7. In a 1968 Ngaio Marsh novel, the action centres on a group of people touring English waterways by narrow-boat. A landscape painting is discovered in a junk shop by one of the travellers and appears to be the work of which English artist?

Answer: John Constable

 This novel, 'A Clutch of Constables', features Inspector Alleyn's artist wife, Agatha Troy. John Constable (1776-1837) is perhaps best known for his paintings in the vicinity of his childhood home in Suffolk, East Anglia ('Flatford Mill', 'The Hay Wain').

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), a founder of the Royal Academy, painted a number of society portraits ('Captain Robert Orme', 'Anne, 2nd Countess of Albermarle').

J M W Turner (1775-1851) was a Romantic landscape artist. Some of his most interesting works portray developments of the industrial revolution ('Rain, Steam and Speed', 'Snowstorm - Steamboat off a Harbour's Mouth').

Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, working mainly in paint and stained glass ('The Beguiling of Merlin', Epiphany Chapel Winchester Cathedral).
8. The novel 'Died in the Wool' (1945) centres on the murder of the formidable Florence (Flossie) Rubrick in the high country of New Zealand's South Island. What is Mrs Rubrick's occupation?

Answer: Farmer and Member of Parliament

 In 1893 New Zealand became the first country in the world in which women obtained equal voting rights, though women could not stand for Parliament until 1919. The 1940s, in which 'Died in the Wool' was published, was a significant decade for New Zealand women in politics.

In 1947 Mabel Howard became the first female member of the New Zealand Cabinet (as Minister of Health) and in 1949 Iriaka Ratana was the first Maori woman elected to Parliament.
9. Chief Inspector Alleyn consults a rare work on trout when solving a fishy crime involving a cat named Thomasina Twitchett and a bitter feud between two anglers. What is the title of this 1955 novel?

Answer: Scales of Justice

 Alleyn makes a forensic examination of fish scales in this intriguing book. To say more would give away too much of the plot.
10. Ngaio Marsh was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (the female equivalent of a knighthood) in 1966. Her contribution to which creative field led to this honour?

Answer: Theatre

 In addition to her abilities as an artist and detective novelist, Marsh was an influential actor/producer of Shakespearean repertory theatre and played a role in raising the popularity of live theatre in New Zealand. The playhouse at Canterbury University, Christchurch, where she had been an art student, was dedicated to her in 1967.
Source: Author Macjaq

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
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Referenced Topics
Literature   World   People   English   Theatre   Agatha Christie   Fish   United Kingdom   Famous Women   Scotland   Cats   New Zealand   London   Islands   Murders   The Color Black   Ngaio Marsh   Scottish People   Eldest   Cards on the Table  

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