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Murder in Mesopotamia (1936) Trivia Quiz

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

A matching quiz by MotherGoose. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
MotherGoose

Time
4 mins

Type
Match Quiz

Quiz #
402,348

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Easy

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
160

Awards
Top 10% Quiz

(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.

Questions		Choices
1. An American archaeologist and leader of the team at Tell Yarimjah; he was very worried about his wife's mental health.		Richard Carey
2. The wife of the leader of the archaeological dig; after receiving a number of anonymous letters threatening her with death, she was murdered by a blow to the head.		Amy Leatheran
3. The detective in the story; a "foreigner" whom the narrator described as "an odd, plump little man, quite old, with an enormous moustache, and a head like an egg".		Father Lavigny
4. A French monk from Carthage who had recently joined the team at the dig; he was an expert in epigraphy (the study and interpretation of ancient inscriptions).		Hercule Poirot
5. The daughter of the civilian doctor who lived in Hassanieh; an attractive but ill-mannered girl who did not like Mrs Leidner (and the feeling was mutual).		Louise Leidner
6. A likeable young Englishman, new to the archaeological dig; with a round pink face, he seemed "exactly like a young man out of one of Mr. P. G. Wodehouse's books".		William (Bill) Coleman
7. An intelligent and capable Englishwoman who was clearly very fond of Dr Leidner and not at all fond of Mrs Leidner; she became the second murder victim.		Anne Johnson
8. An extremely handsome architect who was a long-time friend of Dr Leidner and had been with the expedition from the very beginning; he appeared to be under considerable stress.		Sheila Reilly
9. The devoted and jealous wife of one of the expedition members; she was described as a "thoroughly spiteful little cat" and a "common little spitfire".		Marie Mercado
10. The narrator of the story; a nurse who is hired by Dr Eric Leidner to look after his wife, and who is asked by Dr Giles Reilly to chronicle the events of "the Tell Yarimjah business".		Eric Leidner

Select each answer

1. An American archaeologist and leader of the team at Tell Yarimjah; he was very worried about his wife's mental health.

2. The wife of the leader of the archaeological dig; after receiving a number of anonymous letters threatening her with death, she was murdered by a blow to the head.

3. The detective in the story; a "foreigner" whom the narrator described as "an odd, plump little man, quite old, with an enormous moustache, and a head like an egg".

4. A French monk from Carthage who had recently joined the team at the dig; he was an expert in epigraphy (the study and interpretation of ancient inscriptions).

5. The daughter of the civilian doctor who lived in Hassanieh; an attractive but ill-mannered girl who did not like Mrs Leidner (and the feeling was mutual).

6. A likeable young Englishman, new to the archaeological dig; with a round pink face, he seemed "exactly like a young man out of one of Mr. P. G. Wodehouse's books".

7. An intelligent and capable Englishwoman who was clearly very fond of Dr Leidner and not at all fond of Mrs Leidner; she became the second murder victim.

8. An extremely handsome architect who was a long-time friend of Dr Leidner and had been with the expedition from the very beginning; he appeared to be under considerable stress.

9. The devoted and jealous wife of one of the expedition members; she was described as a "thoroughly spiteful little cat" and a "common little spitfire".

10. The narrator of the story; a nurse who is hired by Dr Eric Leidner to look after his wife, and who is asked by Dr Giles Reilly to chronicle the events of "the Tell Yarimjah business".

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. An American archaeologist and leader of the team at Tell Yarimjah; he was very worried about his wife's mental health.

Answer: Eric Leidner

Dr Giles Reilly suggested that Amy Leatheran might like to take on the job of looking after Louise Leidner, who had "fancies". When Amy first met with Dr Leidner, she wrote that "he sounded very devoted to his wife, but he was very vague about what was the matter with her".

2. The wife of the leader of the archaeological dig; after receiving a number of anonymous letters threatening her with death, she was murdered by a blow to the head.

Answer: Louise Leidner

The various characters in the story all had differing points of view regarding the character of Louise Leidner.

Amy Leatheran: "You couldn't help admiring her and wanting to do things for her."
Dr Giles Reilly: "A mass of affectation... a champion liar".
Sheila Reilly: "Louise comes first--she sees to that all right... anything to get attention"
Mrs Kelsey: "Lovely Louise... she causes quarrels... she's bored... so she creates her own drama".
Major Kelsey: "A charming woman, not at all the quarrelsome kind".
Dr Eric Leidner: "She's really a very charming woman".
Father Lavigny: "She is an odd woman... a dangerous woman, I think... she could be absolutely ruthless".
Anne Johnson: "I admire her very much... she's a lovely woman... (but) she's out of place here".
Bill Coleman: "She's one of the kindest women I've ever met".
David Emmott: "She wasn't easy to read. She'd do a devilish thing one day, and a really fine one the next".

3. The detective in the story; a "foreigner" whom the narrator described as "an odd, plump little man, quite old, with an enormous moustache, and a head like an egg".

Answer: Hercule Poirot

Amy Leatheran was not impressed when she first met Hercule Poirot. She thought he looked like "a hairdresser in a comic play". She knew he was a foreigner, but "hadn't expected him to be quite as foreign as he was". Hercule Poirot observed her disgust and said "You disapprove of me, ma soeur? Remember, the pudding proves itself only when you eat it".

4. A French monk from Carthage who had recently joined the team at the dig; he was an expert in epigraphy (the study and interpretation of ancient inscriptions).

Answer: Father Lavigny

Hercule Poirot discovered that Father Lavigny was an imposter and a thief. He joined the expedition to steal valuable artefacts. He disappeared after the murder of Anne Johnson.

5. The daughter of the civilian doctor who lived in Hassanieh; an attractive but ill-mannered girl who did not like Mrs Leidner (and the feeling was mutual).

Answer: Sheila Reilly

Sheila shocked Nurse Leatheran by telling Poirot exactly what she thought of Louise Leidner: "It's certainly true that if ever a woman deserved to be murdered Mrs. Leidner was that woman!...Nurse Leatheran, I'm afraid, was quite taken in, like many other people. Do you know, M. Poirot, I rather hope that this case isn't going to be one of your successes. I'd quite like the murderer of Louise Leidner to get away with it.

In fact, I wouldn't much have objected to putting her out of the way myself."

6. A likeable young Englishman, new to the archaeological dig; with a round pink face, he seemed "exactly like a young man out of one of Mr. P. G. Wodehouse's books".

Answer: William (Bill) Coleman

Bill Coleman's guardian arranged for him to spend a season at the dig although Bill had no real interest in archaeology. He told Sheila and Nurse Leatheran that his preference "would be to give work a miss altogether" and that what he would really like would be to "have plenty of money and go in for motor‐racing", but realised it was quite out of the question.

7. An intelligent and capable Englishwoman who was clearly very fond of Dr Leidner and not at all fond of Mrs Leidner; she became the second murder victim.

Answer: Anne Johnson

Anne Johnson had been with the expedition for several years as a "sort of general bottle‐washer". She was murdered when someone replaced the glass of water by her bedside with hydrochloric acid, resulting in a horribly painful death.

8. An extremely handsome architect who was a long-time friend of Dr Leidner and had been with the expedition from the very beginning; he appeared to be under considerable stress.

Answer: Richard Carey

Richard Carey was torn between his loyalty to his friend, Dr Eric Leidner, and his attraction to Eric's wife, Louise. Sheila Reilly told Hercule Poirot that Louise and Richard were in love and that they used to meet among the fruit trees down by the river.

9. The devoted and jealous wife of one of the expedition members; she was described as a "thoroughly spiteful little cat" and a "common little spitfire".

Answer: Marie Mercado

Marie Mercado was very protective of her husband and helped him to conceal his drug habit. She feared he might be attracted to Louise Leidner, as most of the men were. It was obvious she hated Louise but, after Louise's murder, she was two-faced enough to claim she was very fond of her.

10. The narrator of the story; a nurse who is hired by Dr Eric Leidner to look after his wife, and who is asked by Dr Giles Reilly to chronicle the events of "the Tell Yarimjah business".

Answer: Amy Leatheran

Amy Leatheran was quite xenophobic. As well as having no confidence in Hercule Poirot because he was a comic-looking foreigner, she was afraid of Father Lavigny ("being a monk and a foreigner and having such a deep voice and all that") and took a dislike to Marie Mercado, describing her as "a common little spitfire" who looked "as though she might have... 'a touch of the tar‐brush'".

She makes comments throughout her narrative such as "I've always noticed that foreigners can make the oddest noises" and "I wondered if M. Poirot had a wife, and if he went on in the way you always hear foreigners do, with mistresses and things like that".

Source: Author MotherGoose

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