Agatha Christie Titles In Other Words (3) Quiz

Answer: Murder in Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is a historical name for the land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, located in modern Iraq. The name actually means "the land between two rivers" -- derived from the Greek "mesos" (middle) and "potamos" (river). Agatha Christie accompanied her husband on some of his archaeological digs in this area, which gave her the inspiration for the novel "Murder in Mesopotamia".

Answer: Evil Under the Sun

This novel is based on the concept of the "eternal triangle". It appears it may have its origins in an earlier short story, "Triangle at Rhodes", as they share a number of similarities. The title is derived from Ecclesiastes, chapter 6, verse 1: "There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind."

Answer: Murder on the Orient Express

This is one of the most popular of Agatha Christie's novels. It was published in the USA under the alternative title of "Murder in the Calais Coach". Christie dedicated it to her husband, Sir Max Mallowan, who was the one who suggested the unusual solution to the mystery.

Answer: Curtain

"Curtain" is the last novel to feature Hercule Poirot. Although it was not released for publication until 1975, it was written during World War II, during the London Blitz, and the author's rights were assigned to her daughter, Rosalind.

Answer: Postern of Fate

This is the last novel Agatha Christie ever wrote, although it was not the last to be published. "Postern of Fate" was published in 1973. Two books that she wrote during the Second World War were subsequently published in 1975 ("Curtain") and 1976 ("Sleeping Murder"), the latter being published posthumously as Agatha Christie passed away in January 1976.

Answer: Third Girl

"Third Girl" is one of seven novels which featured both Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. They assist a young girl (the third of three girls sharing a flat) to solve the question of whether or not she has committed a murder.

Answer: Halloween Party

"Hallowe'en Party" is another of the seven novels which featured both Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. The character of Ariadne Oliver was loosely based on Agatha Christie herself. One characteristic they had in common was a love of apples, a recurring motif throughout this novel.

Answer: Murder on the Links

"Murder on the Links" was Agatha Christie's third novel and featured Hercule Poirot and Captain Arthur Hastings. In this novel, Poirot and Hastings travel to the fictional French village of Merlinville-sur-Mer to meet with Paul Renauld. When they arrive, they are informed that M. Renauld's body was found that morning on the local golf links. Although the definition of "links", in the context of golf, varies considerably, it is typically used to describe a golf course on grass-covered sandy ground near the sea.

Please note: this book has been published as both "The Murder on the Links" and "Murder on the Links" (without the leading "The"). In her autobiography, Agatha Christie refers to it as "Murder on the Links".

Answer: And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie once said that this was the most difficult to write of all her novels. In her autobiography, she wrote "It was well received and reviewed but the person who was really pleased with it was myself, for I knew better than any critic how difficult it had been".

The plot and its solution are quite ingenious and Christie was the first to come up with the idea, now considered a classic.

Answer: The Moving Finger

In her autobiography, Agatha Christie stated that "The Moving Finger" was a book she was really pleased with. "It is a great test to re-read what one has written some 17 or 18 years later...Some do not stand the test of time, others do". The novel takes its name from Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the poetry of Omar Khayyam ("Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam", verse 51): "The moving finger writes; and, having writ, moves on..."