Appointment with Death (1938) Quiz / Test | Appointment with Death

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Tyrannical matriarch of the Boynton family; an ugly, obese woman with a malevolent personality.

Answer: Mrs Boynton

Dr Theodore Gerard, a French psychologist and fellow member of the expedition to Petra, finds the Boynton family to be an interesting study in psychology. His impression of Mrs Boynton is that she is "a horror of a woman...old, swollen, bloated...a distorted old spider in the center of a web". Mrs Boynton is a former prison wardress who treats her children as if they too were her prisoners.

2. His hatred for his stepmother leads him to discuss the possibility of murdering her with his sister and they are overheard by Hercule Poirot.

Answer: Raymond Boynton

The novel opens with the words "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?" Hercule Poirot overheard these words but assumed it was likely to be two people collaborating over a play or a book. But he makes a note of the nature of the male voice uttering the words and later realises they were spoken by Raymond Boynton.

3. A member of the Boynton family; she discusses with Dr King the hopeless prison-like situation she and her siblings are in.

Answer: Carol Boynton

Carol engages Sarah King in conversation and Sarah invites Carol to her room for a chat after everyone has gone to bed. Her intention is to encourage Carol to break free. Unfortunately Mrs Boynton catches Carol returning to her own room after her rendezvous and forbids her to have any further contact with Sarah.

4. Youngest member of the Boynton family; a pretty red-haired girl who was a bit delicate and escaped from reality into a fantasy world.

Answer: Ginevra Boynton

Ginevra (Ginny) is Mrs Boynton's biological child, whereas the other Boynton children - Lennox, Raymond and Carol - are step-children. Ginny has escaped into a world of fantasy. She claims that she is not really a Boynton but that she is royalty, the heiress to a throne, and that "they" were trying to kill her. Ginny tells Poirot that Dr Gerard is in love with her. Dr Gerard tells Poirot that "mentally she is in an extremely dangerous condition.

She has already begun to display symptoms of schizophrenia".

5. A Boynton by marriage, not birth; she was the only member of the family who was not intimidated by her mother-in-law.

Answer: Nadine Boynton

When Nadine is interviewed by Poirot, she entreats him to have pity and conclude that Mrs Boynton died a natural death. She mentions the famous case of "Murder on the Orient Express", stating "I have heard, M. Poirot, that once, in that affair of the Orient Express, you accepted an official verdict of what had happened?"

Poirot replies that "The moral character of the victim has nothing to do with it! A human being who has exercised the right of private judgment and taken the life of another human being is not safe to exist amongst the community...I will not condone murder! That is the final word of Hercule Poirot."

In my opinion, Nadine has a valid point and Poirot's stance could be viewed as a little hypocritical, given that he did not have definitive proof in either of the two cases.

6. The elder of the Boynton brothers; he had given up hope of a normal life and his wife could not persuade him to leave with her.

Answer: Lennox Boynton

Lennox is the oldest of the Boynton children. He is approximately 30 years of age and married to Nadine. Lennox rebelled in his younger days but has now reached the stage of apathy and resignation. Before Mrs Boynton died, Nadine tried to get Lennox to leave but she was unable to persuade him to do so.

7. An old friend of Nadine Boynton; he believes in good rather than evil and misinterprets Mrs Boynton's oppressive and manipulative behaviour as "over-devotion".

Answer: Jefferson Cope

Jefferson Cope was a friend of Nadine's prior to her marriage and subsequently a friend of the Boynton family. He is in love with Nadine and, although their relationship is quite platonic, Nadine tells Poirot that Jefferson has managed to persuade her to leave Lennox and throw in her lot with him.

8. A young doctor who takes an interest in the Boynton family, particularly Raymond; she finds it difficult to understand the inability of the siblings to stand up to their overbearing mother and stepmother.

Answer: Sarah King

Sarah King is a newly qualified young doctor who is fascinated by the Boynton family and is particularly attracted to Raymond Boynton. When the senior Mrs Boynton is discovered dead, Sarah is called upon to estimate the time of death. Her evidence contradicts Raymond's declaration that he spoke to his mother shortly before her body was discovered.

9. An American woman married to an English Lord; a prominent politician who was "much respected and almost universally disliked".

Answer: Lady Westholme

Lady Westholme is American by birth but, by virtue of her marriage to Lord Westholme, a British peer, she is also a member of the British Parliament. They met on board a ship and "the match was often cited as one of the examples of the danger of ocean voyages". On the expedition she is quite loud and over-bearing.

10. Famous Belgian detective with a egg-shaped head, gigantic moustaches, a "dandified" appearance and suspiciously black hair.

Answer: Hercule Poirot

Colonel Carbury asks for Hercule Poirot's professional opinion in determining whether Mrs Boynton's death was murder or not. Poirot agrees to investigate and promises Colonel Carbury a solution within 24 hours but warns him that "even when we have got the truth, there may be no proof. That is to say, no proof that would be accepted in a court of law".

Source: Author MotherGoose

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Appointment with Death (1938) Trivia Quiz

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

Questions		Choices
1. Tyrannical matriarch of the Boynton family; an ugly, obese woman with a malevolent personality.		Nadine Boynton
2. His hatred for his stepmother leads him to discuss the possibility of murdering her with his sister and they are overheard by Hercule Poirot.		Raymond Boynton
3. A member of the Boynton family; she discusses with Dr King the hopeless prison-like situation she and her siblings are in.		Sarah King
4. Youngest member of the Boynton family; a pretty red-haired girl who was a bit delicate and escaped from reality into a fantasy world.		Mrs Boynton
5. A Boynton by marriage, not birth; she was the only member of the family who was not intimidated by her mother-in-law.		Lennox Boynton
6. The elder of the Boynton brothers; he had given up hope of a normal life and his wife could not persuade him to leave with her.		Jefferson Cope
7. An old friend of Nadine Boynton; he believes in good rather than evil and misinterprets Mrs Boynton's oppressive and manipulative behaviour as "over-devotion".		Carol Boynton
8. A young doctor who takes an interest in the Boynton family, particularly Raymond; she finds it difficult to understand the inability of the siblings to stand up to their overbearing mother and stepmother.		Lady Westholme
9. An American woman married to an English Lord; a prominent politician who was "much respected and almost universally disliked".		Hercule Poirot
10. Famous Belgian detective with a egg-shaped head, gigantic moustaches, a "dandified" appearance and suspiciously black hair.		Ginevra Boynton