Agatha Christie's Opening Lines Quiz

Answer: Appointment with Death

Mrs Boynton is a former prison wardress with a sadistic streak who terrorises her unfortunate family. The character of Mrs Boynton was originally written for the novel "Death on the Nile".

Answer: 4:50 from Paddington

Elspeth McGillicuddy witnessed a murder when she took the train home after Christmas shopping. This novel underwent a series of title changes before it was published in 1957. First it was the "The 4:15 from Paddington", then 4:30, then 4:50, then 4:54. Eventually the title "4:50 from Paddington" was chosen.

The American publishers changed the title to "What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw" as they thought American readers would not recognise the name of the station. In 1961, "Murder She Said", a film adaptation of the novel, was released by MGM.

Answer: Sad Cypress

The title "Sad Cypress" came from a song in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". Christie's American publishers did not like the title, feeling that readers might confuse the Cypress tree with the island of Cyprus. Christie suggested the alternative title, "I am Slain", a phrase which comes from the same song in "Twelfth Night".

In the end, the American publishers decided to keep the original title.

Answer: Cat Among the Pigeons

Meadowbank School was loosely based on two schools Agatha Christie's daughter, Rosalind, attended - Caledonia and Benenden.

Answer: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

"The Mysterious Affair at Styles" was published in 1920. Her first victim, Emily Inglethorpe, died of strychnine poisoning. In her autobiography, Agatha Christie wrote "since I was surrounded by poisons, perhaps it was natural that death by poisoning should be the method I selected". Christie had learned a lot about poisons from her work as a dispenser in a hospital pharmacy during the First World War and it was to become her favourite method of murder.

Answer: Curtain: Poirot's Last Case

Agatha Christie began writing "Curtain" in 1940 but it would not be published for another 35 years. She intended it to be released after her death. However, in 1975, her daughter, Rosalind, decided it should be published. Agatha Christie died the following year.

Answer: All of these titles are correct

In her autobiography, Agatha Christie said "I had written the book "Ten Little Niggers" because it was so difficult to do that the idea had fascinated me. Ten people had to die without it becoming ridiculous or the murderer being obvious. ... I do think in some ways that it is a better piece of craftsmanship than anything else I have written". "Ten Little Niggers" has been republished as "And Then There Were None" and "Ten Little Indians" because the original title was considered offensive in America, although it was not viewed this way in England in 1939 when Christie first wrote it. "Ten Little Indians" is an American rhyme, but the two rhymes are not the same, which has caused considerable confusion for readers. "And Then There Were None" is the last line of the rhyme.

Answer: The Pale Horse

Agatha Christie based this book on a real incident which occurred when she worked as a dispenser in a hospital pharmacy during the First World War. In her autobiography, Christie said "I often wondered about Mr P. afterwards. He struck me, in spite of his cherubic appearance, as possibly rather a dangerous man.

His memory remained with me so long that it was still there waiting when I first conceived the idea of writing my book "The Pale Horse" - and that must have been, I suppose, nearly fifty years later."

Answer: All of these titles are correct

Christie dedicated this book "To dear Peter, most faithful of friends and dearest of companions. A dog in a thousand". Peter appears in "Dumb Witness" as Bob, Miss Emily Arundell's wire-haired terrier. This book is known by all three titles given in the question, as well as "Mystery at Littlegreen House".

Answer: Murder is Easy

In the course of this novel, there are at least seven suspicious deaths - one death by gastroenteritis (actually poisoning), a drowning, a fatal fall, an "accidental" poisoning, one death by septicaemia (deliberate infection), a hit-and-run "accident" and one fatal blow to the head. "Murder is Easy" is also known as "Easy to Kill".