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Agatha Christie's Authors Trivia Quiz

This is a quiz about the fictional authors who feature in Agatha Christie's novels. Enjoy it, there are no major spoilers.

A multiple-choice quiz by smarthastings. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
smarthastings

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
149,317

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
9 / 15

Plays
993

Last 3 plays: Guest 98 (12/15), Guest 76 (11/15), Guest 104 (8/15).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. Christie's alter ego in fiction is Ariadne Oliver. Who does she not work with? Hint

Parker Pyne

Inspector Japp

Hercule Poirot

Mark Easterbrook

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Question 2 of 15

2. In "Death in the Clouds", mystery novelist Daniel Clancey offers Poirot a copy of one of his books. What is the title? Hint

The Clue of the Candle Wax

The Clue of the Scarlet Petal

The Case of the Missing Will

The Case of the Wilting Begonias

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Question 3 of 15

3. In "Death on the Nile", why are Salome Otterbourne's books banned from the leading lending libraries? Hint

They feature swearing

They are about sex

They led to the assasination of the King of Russia

The mysteries are too complex

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Question 4 of 15

4. Which of these did Christie not have in common with Ariadne Oliver? Hint

She was a Dame of the British Empire

She wrote "The Body In the Library"

She liked to eat apples

The critics dubbed her "The Queen of Crime"

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Question 5 of 15

5. In which novel does Poirot pretend to be researching a book on the victim's father? Hint

Destination Unknown

Dumb Witness

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Death on the Nile

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Question 6 of 15

6. In which book does Poirot pretend to be researching a book on the murder? Hint

Dumb Witness

After the Funeral

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Five Little Pigs

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Question 7 of 15

7. How many fictional published or unpublished authors are mentioned in "A Murder is Announced"? Hint

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Question 8 of 15

8. Which of these authors is murdered? Hint

Salome Otterbourne (Death on the Nile)

Edmund Swettenham (A Murder is Announced)

Ariadne Oliver (Various)

Daniel Clancey (Death in the Clouds)

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Question 9 of 15

9. Miss Marple has a nephew she thinks highly of. What is he called? Hint

Raymond West

David Marple

Raymond Easterly

Jessica Fletcher

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Question 10 of 15

10. Why did Christie write that Ariadne Oliver had created a detective from Finland? Hint

Because Poirot is foreign, and Christie could reveal her irritation with him through Mrs. Oliver

Because Christie went to Finland in her youth, and could write in more detail about Finland

Because Finns notoriously like apples, as did Mrs. Oliver

In tribute to Edmund Crispin's detective Gervase Fen ("Finn" sounds like "Fen")

11. In "Dead Man's Folly", Mrs. Oliver complained that a reader made a fuss over the mistaken length of a blowpipe in one of her books. This is an experience of Christie's. Which novel was the mistake in? Hint

Death in the Clouds

Appointment With Death

Death on the Nile

Death Comes as the End

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Question 12 of 15

12. Which of these characters is not a writer? Hint

Anthony Chappel ("Yellow Iris")

Raymond West ("Sleeping Murder")

Anne Beddingfield ("The Man in the Brown Suit")

Luke Fitzwilliam ("Murder is Easy")

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Question 13 of 15

13. Where does Miss Marple go on holiday, courtesy of her novelist nephew? Hint

The Caribbean

Madrid

The Bahamas

None of these

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Question 14 of 15

14. Why does the unpublished author Edmund Swettenham try to kill Letty Blacklock in "A Murder is Announced"? Hint

He is Pip, and wants to inherit her money

He doesn't

He is in love with Julia

He is in love with Phillipa

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Question 15 of 15

15. How many authors in have commited suicide in Christie's writings? Hint

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Most Recent Scores

Oct 31 2024 : Guest 98: 12/15
Oct 20 2024 : Guest 76: 11/15
Oct 17 2024 : Guest 104: 8/15
Oct 13 2024 : rabbit1964: 12/15

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Christie's alter ego in fiction is Ariadne Oliver. Who does she not work with?

Answer: Inspector Japp

Mrs. Oliver's first appearances were magazine short stories with Parker Pyne. These were later published as "Parker Pyne Investigates" in 1934. She is also the main detective in "The Pale Horse" (1961), in which Mark Easterbrook helps her. Although her majority of appearences were with Poirot, they were usually after Christie had abandoned Japp.

2. In "Death in the Clouds", mystery novelist Daniel Clancey offers Poirot a copy of one of his books. What is the title?

Answer: The Clue of the Scarlet Petal

If an author appears in one of Christie's novels, he or she usually writes books entitled "The Clue of...". For example, two of Mrs. Oliver's books are entitled "The Clue of the Candlewax" and "The Clue of the Missing Papers". Towards the end of "Death in the Clouds", when Poirot explains the clues, he says "The clue of the wasp" and "The clue of the matchbox" etc., which is his form of jesting Mr. Clancey's somewhat unoriginal book titles.

3. In "Death on the Nile", why are Salome Otterbourne's books banned from the leading lending libraries?

Answer: They are about sex

In the story, Salome Otterbourne's most recent book is "Snow upon the Desert's Face". One may note that the first book Christie wrote was "Snow upon the Desert", it was never published.

4. Which of these did Christie not have in common with Ariadne Oliver?

Answer: She was a Dame of the British Empire

Mrs. Oliver's obsession with apples turned sour in 1969, when a girl was found drowned in the bobbing apples at a party (Hallowe'en Party). In "Cards on the Table" (1936), Poirot mentioned that Mrs. Oliver was acknowledged as the "Queen of Crime" by the critics, and Anne Meredith asks if this lady is "The same Ariadne Oliver who wrote 'The Body in the Library'?"

5. In which novel does Poirot pretend to be researching a book on the victim's father?

Answer: Dumb Witness

This is also known as "Poirot Loses a Client". The victim is Emily Arundell and her father is John Arundell.

6. In which book does Poirot pretend to be researching a book on the murder?

Answer: Five Little Pigs

This is also known as "Murder in Retrospect". The murder is that of Amyas Crale, and occurred 16 years previously (1926, the year Christie disappeared for 11 days).

7. How many fictional published or unpublished authors are mentioned in "A Murder is Announced"?

Answer: 2

Edmund Swettenham is a prime suspect, and Miss Marple lovingly refers to her nephew Raymond West throughout the book.

8. Which of these authors is murdered?

Answer: Salome Otterbourne (Death on the Nile)

Mrs. Otterbourne is shot at the critical moment, when she is about to reveal the identity of the killer to Poirot. She had been collecting drink, and observed one of the murderers leaving the scene of the crime.

9. Miss Marple has a nephew she thinks highly of. What is he called?

Answer: Raymond West

Miss Marple described his books as "modern" novels about romance (scandalous in the 1930s). Raymond Easterly and David Marple are names I made up, and Jessica Fletcher is the star of TV series "Murder, She Wrote" in which Angela Lansbury took the lead. Lansbury has also played Miss Marple and Salome Otterbourne in movies.

10. Why did Christie write that Ariadne Oliver had created a detective from Finland?

Answer: Because Poirot is foreign, and Christie could reveal her irritation with him through Mrs. Oliver

Christie hated Poirot, and Mrs. Oliver hated her detective.

Answer: Death in the Clouds

She was deceived by the Arthur Conan Doyle book "The Sign of Four", where a blowpipe is described as being ruler-length (meaning 30 cm, Christie presumably took it to mean 15 cm). In "Death in the Clouds", the blowpipe is hid under Poirot's seat. This would be impossible in reality.

12. Which of these characters is not a writer?

Answer: Luke Fitzwilliam ("Murder is Easy")

Luke Fitzwilliam only pretends to be a journalist in order to get into the village where mass murder is occurring.

13. Where does Miss Marple go on holiday, courtesy of her novelist nephew?

Answer: The Caribbean

This is in "A Caribbean Mystery" (1954).

14. Why does the unpublished author Edmund Swettenham try to kill Letty Blacklock in "A Murder is Announced"?

Answer: He doesn't

Nobody tries to kill Letty. In fact, she's dead before the book starts, and it is her sister Charlotte who is posing as her.

15. How many authors in have commited suicide in Christie's writings?

Answer: 0

An author never hides a guilty secret...

Source: Author smarthastings

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