4.50 From Paddington (1957) Quiz | Christie, Agatha

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. An older woman, short and stout, travelling by train after Christmas shopping in London; she saw a murder on another train traveling parallel to hers.

Answer: Elspeth McGillicuddy

Elspeth McGillicuddy was from Scotland. She travelled to London to do her Christmas shopping and planned to break her journey on the way home to visit her friend, Miss Jane Marple, for a few days. Whilst on the train (which departed from Paddington Station at 4:50 p.m.), she witnessed a man strangling a woman on another train travelling parallel to hers.

"4.50 from Paddington" is the original British title of this novel. In America, it was published under the title of "What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw!" as the American publishers felt that the British train reference may be too obscure for their readers. It was made into a movie called "Murder She Said", featuring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple, in 1962.

2. An elderly spinster and resident of St Mary Mead; she believes her friend's claim that she witnessed a murder and proceeds to investigate, despite there being no evidence of either a murder or a dead body.

Answer: Miss Jane Marple

Miss Marple featured in 12 novels, as well as a number of short stories, as the protagonist/sleuth. She is usually described as a genteel and shrewd elderly lady who likes to knit and is somewhat of an expert on human nature. In this novel, she is not directly involved in the murder - she does not witness it and she is not in a position to investigate it personally.

However, she knows the character of her friend, so she believes Elspeth's claim of having witnessed a murder. She decides to hire Lucy Eylesbarrow to act as her proxy in investigating the crime.

3. A faithful daughter who has never married and takes care of her father; she is described by Dr Quimper as a clever woman who is the "salt of the earth".

Answer: Emma Crackenthorpe

When we meet Emma in this novel, she is described as "a middle-aged woman with no very outstanding characteristics, neither good-looking nor plain, sensibly dressed in tweeds and pullover, with dark hair swept back from her forehead, steady hazel eyes and a very pleasant voice". Emma looks after her father and runs the Crackenthorpe household.

She was very relieved to have secured the services of Lucy Eylesbarrow to assist her.

4. Patriarch of the Crackenthorpe family; he is a miserly, bitter old man who pretends to be an invalid.

Answer: Luther Crackenthorpe

Luther Crackenthorpe was a disappointment to his father, Josiah, who bypassed Luther in his will and left his very considerable estate in trust to his legitimate grandchildren and their offspring. Luther received an income but had no power to access the capital, nor could he sell the house or land.

He amassed a considerable fortune of his own because of his penny-pinching ways. He also startled Lucy Eylesbarrow when he hinted at a possible marriage between them.

5. The oldest surviving son of the Crackenthorpe family; he lives abroad in Iviza (Ibiza) and is an artist/painter.

Answer: Cedric Crackenthorpe

Cedric is "a big man with a weather-beaten rugged face, unkempt dark hair, and a jocund manner...he looked the stage Bohemian to the life and proud of it". As the oldest surviving son, he stands to benefit the most when his father dies as he will inherit the house and land, in addition to an equal share in the remainder of the estate.

Miss Marple told Cedric that he reminded her of "young Thomas Eade, our bank manager's son. Always out to shock people". Dr Morris called him "a natural rebel".

6. Another son of the Crackenthorpe family; a businessman who lives in London and is married to an Earl's daughter.

Answer: Harold Crackenthorpe

Harold is variously described as "a sly fox" (by his father), "quite an important figure" (by the police), "cold-hearted" (by Dr Morris) and "the perfect picture of a City gentleman" (by the author). He appears to be a financially successful businessman but in reality, he is deeply in debt.

Harold is married to Lady Alice. He had married Alice because of her family connections, and Alice had likely married him because he was affluent. Harold was unsure how Alice felt about him and was uncomfortable that he never knew what she was thinking. The marriage, although amicable, had proved to be a disappointment to him, particularly as they had no children.

7. The "black sheep" of the Crackenthorpe family; nobody knows what he really does for a living but it is more than likely he is a petty criminal.

Answer: Alfred Crackenthorpe

Dr Morris told DI Craddock that Alfred was a "wrong 'un" and had a "touch of the delinquent about him".

Cedric told Lucy that Alfred "is usually known in the privacy of the family as Flash Alf" because "he's not actually been to prison yet, but he's been very near it".

While being interviewed, Alfred tells DI Craddock, "I'm in insurance at the moment". The police thought Alfred was the killer until he was murdered.

8. The Crackenthorpe's physician; he appears to be attracted to Emma but is almost certainly more attracted by the promise of her inheritance.

Answer: Dr Quimper

Dr Quimper is a "a tall genial man, with a casual off-hand, cynical manner that his patients found very stimulating". He tells Inspector Bacon that Emma is a clever woman who would have been a success as a wife and mother. "She's got the instinct some women have to make their menfolk happy". Dr Quimper told Lucy that Emma meant a lot to him and asked her to look after Emma.

9. A Detective-Inspector of New Scotland Yard and god-son of Sir Henry Clithering; Miss Marple is very pleased he has been assigned to the case.

Answer: Dermot Craddock

Sir Henry Clithering is a good friend of Miss Marple. Dermot tells Lucy that his godfather described Miss Marple as "just the finest detective God ever made". Unlike most other policemen, Sir Henry has a high regard for Miss Marple's judgement. He tells Dermot never to despise elderly ladies, or as he called them, "old pussies".

Dermot Craddock appears in a number of Miss Marple stories - "A Murder is Announced", "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side", and "Sanctuary (a short story from "Double Sin"), as well as "4.50 from Paddington".

Sir Henry Clithering appears in "The Thirteen Problems" (also known as "The Tuesday Club Murders"), "The Body in the Library" and "A Murder is Announced".

10. Miss Marple's proxy in investigating the murder of the woman on the train; a clever and capable young woman who is able to go where Miss Marple cannot.

Answer: Lucy Eylesbarrow

Lucy is attractive, intelligent and highly skilled in the area of domestic service. She has a First in Mathematics from Oxford but rejected an academic career because of its poor monetary compensation. Instead she embarked on a successful career in domestic service for which she charged the earth, and obtained it, as the demand for her services was very high.

She is able to pick and choose her assignments. She accepts a commission from Miss Marple to look for a body on the Crackenthorpe estate and was able to secure a post in their household without difficulty.

Source: Author MotherGoose

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4.50 From Paddington (1957) Trivia Quiz

Match the major characters in this novel with their description. (NO SPOILERS)

Questions		Choices
1. An older woman, short and stout, travelling by train after Christmas shopping in London; she saw a murder on another train traveling parallel to hers.		Luther Crackenthorpe
2. An elderly spinster and resident of St Mary Mead; she believes her friend's claim that she witnessed a murder and proceeds to investigate, despite there being no evidence of either a murder or a dead body.		Dr Quimper
3. A faithful daughter who has never married and takes care of her father; she is described by Dr Quimper as a clever woman who is the "salt of the earth".		Cedric Crackenthorpe
4. Patriarch of the Crackenthorpe family; he is a miserly, bitter old man who pretends to be an invalid.		Dermot Craddock
5. The oldest surviving son of the Crackenthorpe family; he lives abroad in Iviza (Ibiza) and is an artist/painter.		Elspeth McGillicuddy
6. Another son of the Crackenthorpe family; a businessman who lives in London and is married to an Earl's daughter.		Miss Jane Marple
7. The "black sheep" of the Crackenthorpe family; nobody knows what he really does for a living but it is more than likely he is a petty criminal.		Harold Crackenthorpe
8. The Crackenthorpe's physician; he appears to be attracted to Emma but is almost certainly more attracted by the promise of her inheritance.		Alfred Crackenthorpe
9. A Detective-Inspector of New Scotland Yard and god-son of Sir Henry Clithering; Miss Marple is very pleased he has been assigned to the case.		Emma Crackenthorpe
10. Miss Marple's proxy in investigating the murder of the woman on the train; a clever and capable young woman who is able to go where Miss Marple cannot.		Lucy Eylesbarrow