Christie Quintets Trivia Quiz

Answer: Death on the Nile

"Death on the Nile" (1938) involves the love triangle between wealthy heiress Linnet, her impoverished best friend Jacqueline, and handsome Simon Doyle - leading to murder when Linnet steals Simon away from Jacqueline. When Linnet is found murdered in her bed, Simon and Jacqueline have alibis - but they are not the only ones on board the "Karnak" with a motive to kill Linnet.

Answer: The ABC Murders

In "The ABC Murders" (1936), a series of "alliterative" murders occurs, based on the alphabet. The first victim is Alice Ascher from Andover, the second Betty Barnard from Bexhill, and the third Sir Carmichael Clarke from Churston. In reality, one murder was conducted for greed and profit, and the other murders were merely "camouflage".

In other words, where do you "hide" a murder? Answer - in among a group of murders (in the hope that the police "won't see the forest for the trees").

Answer: Endless Night

In "Endless Night" (1968), the love triangle between poor little rich girl Ellie, working-class Michael and Ellie's friend Greta, along with greed, leads to several murders. The novel was made into a film in 1972 starring Hayley Mills as Ellie, Britt Ekland as Greta, and Hywel Bennett as Michael.

Answer: At Bertram's Hotel

"At Bertram's Hotel" (1965) features sleuth Miss Jane Marple, who is staying at the exclusive (and expensive) Bertram's in London for a fortnight's holiday - a gift from her nephew. This provides her with the opportunity to indulge in one of her favourite pastimes - "people watching".

It isn't long before she notices some unusual and unsettling occurrences at Bertram's Hotel. Robbery, missing persons, bigamy, scandal and, of course, murder are all thrown into the mix.

Answer: Murder on the Orient Express

The Orient Express was a real train which ran from 1883 to 2009, between Paris and Istanbul (Constantinople). The novel "Murder on the Orient Express" (1934) was inspired by several real-life events, including the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby son in 1932, a blizzard that left an Orient Express train stranded for six days in 1929, and localised flooding that washed some sections of track away, which delayed Agatha Christie's journey on the Orient Express, in 1931.

Her observations of passengers on that journey inspired some of the characters who appeared in the novel.

Answer: Cat Among the Pigeons

In December 1958, Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowen, an archaeologist, journeyed to Iraq for his work. A revolution had occurred in Iraq in the previous July, which helped provide the inspiration for the novel "Cat Among the Pigeons" (1960).

It is set in an English girls school, but the plot involved smuggled jewels from fictional Ramat, in the Middle East. Meadowbank School was loosely based on two schools Agatha Christie's daughter, Rosalind, attended - Caledonia and Benenden.

Answer: Dead Man's Folly

"Dead Man's Folly" (1956) featured both Hercule Poirot and his friend, Ariadne Oliver. In a magazine article ("John Bull Magazine", 1956), Agatha Christie was quoted as saying, "...the character of Ariadne Oliver does have a strong dash of myself". Ariadne, like Agatha Christie, writes crime novels. Ariadne Oliver appeared in seven Agatha Christie novels - six with Hercule Poirot. ("The Pale Horse" is the only novel to feature Ariadne by herself).

The plot centres on a murder hunt, organised as part of a charity event, which ends in a real murder.

Answer: The Body in the Library

"The Body in the Library" (1942) is a Miss Marple mystery which begins with the discovery of the body of Ruby Keene in the library at Gossington hall, home of Miss Marple's friends, Colonel and Dolly Bantry. It is also the title of a fictitious book written by Christie sleuth Ariadne Oliver, which was mentioned a few years previously in her novel "Cards on the Table" (1937).

Answer: And Then There Were None

"And Then There Were None" (1939) was originally entitled "Ten Little Niggers" but the title was subsequently changed for reasons of political correctness. In this novel, ten people are lured to an island, left stranded and then murdered one by one. 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".

Answer: Death Comes as the End

"Death Cones as the End" (1945) presents a picture of life (and murder) in Ancient Egypt in around 2,000 BCE. It is noteworthy that it is the only Christie novel that is NOT set in the 20th century with predominantly European characters. It was written at the behest of, and with the assistance of, Stephen Glanville, an eminent historian and Egyptologist, who was also a friend of the family.

He persuaded Christie to change the ending, which she did, but she always regretted it. In her autobiography, Christie said "...against my better judgement, I did give in...but I was a little hampered by the gratitude I felt to Stephen for all the trouble he had taken, and the fact that it had been his idea to start with".