Today marks the beginning of the annual Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay! While you read this, there are walks and teas and library events and detection galore going on all around Torquay and neighboring Paignton! How we all wish we could be there, right? I tell you what, though: I don’t mind in the least being the next best thing!!
You knew I had to do something Christie-related to celebrate ten years of blogging about the Queen of Crime (and various other writers whose names, at the moment, escape me.) Here’s a chance to immerse yourself in her writing, just as I have done since I was a wee lad of ten. Perhaps even the festival-goers, in a rare moment of idleness, will find the following quiz a fun activity and/or conversation starter between attending those fabulous workshops, dressing up for Murder on the Dance Floor, or hanging about with your mates.
Each of the thirty items below takes the form of a favorite quotation or passage of mine. Your job is to name the Christie title from which each entry originates. As you consider your answers, be aware of the following:
- Most of the quotes come from novels, but I’ve mixed in a few short stories and plays;
- To make things a little tougher I have replaced proper names with generic pronouns. (I left things as they are once or twice – like Christie, I am the gift that keeps on giving!)
- I did the best I could with the formatting. WordPress has been a godsend at letting me find my voice, but technically it sucks!
- I can’t imagine who on earth would dare take this quiz without already being a rabid Christie fan, but if your reading of the canon is incomplete, be wary of spoilers!!
If you can identify and explain the placement and/or significance of each quote, you’re truly an Agath-ologist! Post your answers in the comments below, or send them to me at ahsweetmysteryblog@gmail.com. I will provide the solution to the quiz, along with the reasons whyI love each entry oh so much, on Wednesday, September 24, because it’s the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Okay, not because of that (but Happy New Year to all!) but because that day marks the actual 10th anniversary of my very first post!
As M. Poirot would say, “Bonne chance!”
ONE
- “’This house is full of so many beautiful things . . . That green table would look wonderful in your new establishment . . .’
- “’It may be deducted from our share of the estate . . . With the wax flowers thrown in . . . ‘“
- “’They look so right on that table . . . Really artistic. Sweetly pretty.”
TWO
- “’P.S. I’m enclosing a snap of Bert and me. One of the boys took it at the camp and give it to me. Bert doesn’t know I’ve got it – he hates being snapped. But you can see, madam, what a nice boy he is.’”
THREE
- “Who is there who has not felt a sudden startled pang at reliving an old experience, or feeling an old emotion? ‘I have done this before . . . ‘ Why do those words always move one so profoundly?”
FOUR
- “(She) got up. She went across to the door. She said again: ‘I died . . . ‘ In the hall, she passed two young people whose life together was just beginning. The chauffeur helped open the door of the car. (She) got in and the chauffeur wrapped the fur rug round her knees.”
FIVE
- “She couldn’t bear what I told her, she couldn’t face the thought of their being free – and happy. And she saw a way to keep them in prison for ever . . . It was clever – damnably clever – just enough suspicion against each of them. Not enough to convict one but enough to keep them believing all their lives that one of them had killed her.”
SIX
- “No, that will not happen. I shall not be tried as an accessory after the fact. I shall not be tried for perjury. I shall be tried for murder – (She stabs (him) in the back.) – the murder of the only man I ever loved. (He drops . . . She looks up at the Judge’s seat.) Guilty, my lord.
SEVEN
- “’Looks as though she stood on the chair, adjusted the rope round her neck and kicked away the chair.’
- “’But that chair wasn’t found kicked over. It was, like all the other chairs, neatly put back against the wall. That was done after (her) death – by someone else.’”
EIGHT
- “’But I really don’t feel it’s right to making him a vegetarian, darling,’ (he) was objecting. ‘Too faddy. And definitely not glamorous.’
- “’ I can’t help it, (she) said obstinately. ‘He’s always been a vegetarian. He takes round a little machine for grating raw carrots, and turnips.’
- “’But (X), precious, why?’
- “’How do I know?’ (she) said crossly. ‘How do I know why I ever thought of the revolting man? I must have been mad! Why a Finn when I know nothing about Finland? Why a vegetarian? Why all the idiotic mannerisms he’s got? These things just happen. You try something – and people seem to like it – and then you go on – and before you know where you are, you’ve got someone like that maddening Sven Hjerson tied to you for life. And people even write and say how fond you must be of him. Fond of him? If I met that bony gangling vegetable eating Finn in real life, I’d do a better murder than any I’ve ever invented.’”
NINE
- “That amiable youth Jimmy Thesiger came racing down the big staircase at (X House) two steps at a time.”
TEN
- “’My goodness,’ he cried, ‘I’ve only just realized it! that rascal, with his poisoned cocktail! Anyone might have drunk it! It might have been me!’
- “’There is an even more terrible possibility that you have not considered,’ (he) said.
- “‘Eh?’
- “’It might have been me,’ (he) said.”
ELEVEN
- “’Randall couldn’t really distinguish between what was crooked and what wasn’t. His conscience wasn’t sensitive. The poor dear really didn’t know what was just smart – and what was dishonest. Blackie kept him straight. That’s one thing about (her), she’s absolutely dead straight. She would never do anything that was dishonest. She’s a very fine character, you know. I’ve always admired her.”
TWELVE
- “And according to Scotland Yard, the crime took place at Twenty-Four Culver Street, Paddington. The murdered woman was a Mrs. Maureen Lyon. In connection with the murder, the police – (SHE rises and crosses to the armchair center.) are anxious to interview a man scene in the vicinity, wearing a dark overcoat – (SHE picks up his overcoat) – light scarf – (SHE picks up his scarf) and a soft felt hat. (SHE picks up his hat and exits through the arch up right.) Motorists are warned against ice-bound roads.”
THIRTEEN
- “’I see you’re looking at the fireplace.’
- “’Oh. Was I?’ . . .
- “’Yes, I wondered –‘ She leaned forward and lowered her voice. ‘Was it your poor child?’
FOURTEEN
- “He was about to pass it to her when his movement was suddenly arrested. Looking more like a stuffed frog than ever, (he) appeared to be staring fixedly over her right shoulder – from whence came the sound of approaching footsteps and voices. ‘Well, I’m damned – I mean -.’ He stuffed everything back into his wallet and crammed it into his pocket.”
FIFTEEN
- “The girl laughed softly, a laugh of pure happiness. ‘We’ll wait three months – to make sure you don’t get the sack – and then – ‘
- “’And then I’ll endow thee with my worldly goods – that’s the hang of it, isn’t it?’ . . .
- “’ I wonder. Will it be as marvelous to you as it is to me? Do you really care – as much as I do?’”
SIXTEEN
- “I had just finished carving some boiled beef (remarkably tough by the way) and on resuming my seat I remarked that, in a spirit most unbecoming to my cloth, that anyone who murdered (X) would be doing the world at large a service.”
SEVENTEEN
- “She slipped out of her coat, dropped her overnight bag, pushed the sitting room door farther open and went in . . . Then she stopped dead. Her mouth opened and then shut. She stiffened all over – her eyes staring at the prone figure on the floor; then they rose slowly to the mirror on the wall that reflected back at her own horror- stricken face . . . Then she drew a deep breath. The momentary paralysis over, she flung back her head and screamed.”
EIGHTEEN
- “So, Hastings – we went hunting once more, did we not? Vive le sport.”
NINETEEN
- “I meant to go up this morning, but (X) was missing – that’s my cat, a Persian; such a beauty, only he’s had a painful ear lately – and of course I couldn’t leave home till he was found!!’”
TWENTY
- “’Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle; she died young.’ (She) screamed.”
TWENTY-ONE
- “’ I’ve never had any chance of displaying my talents as a sleuth. I think I might be rather good at it.’
- “’Now, Ann.’
- “’Darling, I’m not going to trail dangerous criminals. I’m just going to – well, make a few logical deductions. Why and who. And what for? That sort of thing. I’ve come across one piece of information that’s rather interesting.’
- “’Ann!’
- “Don’t look so agonized . . . Only it doesn’t seem to link up with anything . . . Up to a point it all fits in very well. And then suddenly it doesn’t.’ She added cheerfully, ‘Perhaps there’ll be a second murder, and that will clarify things a little.’
- “It was at exactly that moment that (Miss X) pushed open the Sports Pavilion door.”
TWENTY-TWO
- “The letter had been brought in at twenty minutes to nine. It was just on ten minutes to nine when I left him, the letter still unread. I hesitated with my hand on the door handle, looking back and wondering if there was anything I had left undone.”
TWENTY-THREE
- “She looked back from the door, and she laughed. Just for one moment, Mr. Schuster, who was a man of more imagination than Mr. Broadribb, had a vague impression of a young and pretty girl shaking hands with the vicar at a garden party in the country. It was, as he realized a moment later, a recollection of his own youth. But (she) had, for a minute, reminded him of that particular girl, young, happy, going to enjoy herself.”
TWENTY-FOUR
- “George, George! . . . Oh, do come here! I’m afraid there’s been the most dreadful accident . . . Poor Mr. Evans! . . . “
TWENTY-FIVE
- “She looked past me – over my shoulder – as though she saw someone coming along the path – but there was no one – there was no one there.”
TWENTY-SIX
- “’The date on that wall calendar, has it remained like it is since the murder?’
- “(He) turned back. ‘Which calendar, sir?’
- “’The one on the wall over there.’
- “. . . The calendar in question was a large one with tear-off leaves, a bold date on each leaf. (He) peered across the room, then shuffled slowly across till he was a foot or two away. He said: ‘Excuse me, sir, it has been torn off. It’s the twenty-sixth today.’”
TWENTY-SEVEN
- “Your left-hand little finger is short, but your right hand one is much longer. And your left hand is what you were born with and the right hand is what you make of your life. So that means that you were born unselfish, but have become much more selfish as time goes on.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
- “Here we are! she exclaimed with a kind of beaming boisterousness, meant to cheer and enliven the sad twilight of the aged. ‘I hope we’ve had our little snooze!.’
- “’I have been knitting (she) replied, putting some emphasis on the pronoun, ‘and,’ she went on, confessing her weakness with distaste and shame, ‘I’ve dropped a stitch.’
- “Oh dear, dear,’ said (Miss X). ‘Well, we’ll soon put that right, won’t we?’
- “’You will,’ (she) said. ‘I, alas, am unable to do so.’”
TWENTY-NINE
- “But I, she thought, I am not a whole person. I belong, not to myself, but to something outside me. I cannot grieve for my dead. Instead, I must take my grief and make it into a figure of alabaster. Exhibit N58 Grief, Alabaster. She said under her breath, (X) – forgive me – forgive me – for what I can’t help doing.”
THIRTY
- “’What about (her)? Wedding bells there, too?’
- “’Perhaps,’ said Miss Marple. ‘I shouldn’t wonder.’
- “’Which of ‘em is she going to choose?’ said Dermot Craddock.
- “’Don’t you know?’ said Miss Marple.
- “’No, I don’t,’ said Craddock. ‘Do you?’
- “’Oh, yes, I think so,’ said Miss Marple.
- “And she twinkled at him.”
Ah Sweet Mystery! 
Amazing but … not a clue really. I am so not worthy, Brad …
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And you call yourself my friend?!?
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To quote Dirty Harry, “A man’s got to know his limitations” 🤣
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Brad – what a fun quiz. I am not the Agatha Christie expert that you, Mark Aldridge, John Curran, etc. are, but I have attempted the book or short story titles for the list of 30. Many I knew immediately, took a (hopefully intelligent) guess on a couple and unfortunately four I had no idea. I look forward to the answers when you post them next week. I put my answers in rot-13 so as not to spoil things for others:
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I’m so glad you took part, Scott. Upon looking through your answers, I will say this: you got some fairly rare ones! Stay tuned for the answer sheet!
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Amazing post, Brad! (It’s actually spelled and pronounced “bonne chance”, of course, and you probably don’t want to say “A bientot, Poirot”, a phrase meaning “See you soon” to any person who is dying). Your quiz, however, is great! And pretty challenging too. I fancy myself a hardcore Christie fan, but you stumped me on a couple of the questions 🤔
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Thanks for the kind words, Michael. I made the correction to “bonne chance” – my college French doesn’t always serve me well! But I cannot find an instance of “a bientot, Poirot” in the post! What am I missing???
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It’s the title of your review of Curtain back in 2016 😊
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Gotcha! That error will have to stay – but then I do occasionally revisit Curtain, so maybe I’m not entirely off!
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Sorry it sounds like you’re missing the Festival, Brad. I’m missing out this year too. Let’s hope for next year?
I’ve channeled my envy towards festivalgoers into answering your quiz, with explanations for extra credit.
I have to confess I’m not that much of an Agathologist though compared to the real ones! I have some advantages:
– My “let’s read most of Christie” moment was from the last 10 years onwards (barring a few Marples I read earlier on)
– I like to re-listen to All About Agatha episodes a lot (occasionally including the odd one for a book I haven’t read (yes, this is A Crime and I’m sorry))
– I really have nothing better to fill the memory banks with than mystery novels
Answers in rot13. When I’ve guessed, I’ve admitted it with a question mark.
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Next year in Torquay is very much in the cards, I hope. We could have a reunion at the Christie bust – or try out the chic new Peter-bench!
Do you want to know your score? I’ll give you that option here: Lbh tbg gjragl-svir bhg bs guvegl pbeerpg. Abg gbb funool, Iryyrvp!
As to which are right and which are wrong, you’ll just have to wait. But it’s awfully fun having you along for the ride!
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Thank you Brad! You’re a devious quiz-setter so I’m very happy with that score!
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I recognized a lot of them, but not all so I shan’t guess.
I did spot the play version of one of Agatha’s best novels!
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Everyone else has gotten that one wrong so far, so count yourself in the know!!!
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Garrr, this is maddening! I recognize so many of these plots … but I don’t know the titles.
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I’m not good with codes, so I emailed you my answers, which were done off the top of my head without looking anything up. And after you have read them, you will want to poke out your eyes to eradicate the memory of such a horrifying lack of Christie knowledge.
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What a great way to start the day – I’ll need to think carefully about some of them.
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Had the benefit of rereading all of Christie early this year, so most stayed fresh in my mind.
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Nsgre gur Shareny
N Cbpxrg Shyy bs elr
Urephyr Cbvebg’f Puevfgznf )V’z abg fher. Gurer’f ng yrngf n fvzvyne fprar va vg gubhtu)
Svir Yvggyr Cvtf
Nccbvagzrag jvgu Qrngu, gur fgntr cynl
Jvgarff sbe gur Cebfrphgvba
Naq Gura gurer Jrer Abar
Zef ZpTvagl’f Qrnq
Frira Qvnyf Zlfgrel
Guerr Npg Gentrql
N Zheqre vf Naabhaprq
Zbfrgenc/Guerr Oyvaq Zvpr
Ol gur Cevpxvat bs Zl Guhzof
Pneevorna Zlfgrel
Qrngu ba gur Avyr
Zheqre ng gur Ivpnentr
Guveq Tvey?
NOP Zheqref
Zheqre vf Rnfl
Fyrrcvat Zheqre
Png Nzbat gur Cvtrbaf
Gur Zheqre bs Ebtre Npxeblq
Arzrfvf
Nppvqrag
Qrngu Pbzrf nf gur Raq?
Guvf vf qrsvavgryl Cbvebg’f Puevfgznf, juvpu vf jul V’z hafher nobhg 3
Gbjneqf Mreb
Gur Zveebe Penpxrq
Gur Ubyybj
4:50 Sebz Cnqqvatgba
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Sorry I don’t know why the numbers didn’t appear. I posted evertyhing with numbers in Rot13.
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This is totally off-topic for the quiz but absolutely on-topic about you being asked back to the festival as a headlining guest speaker in the future.
Bill and I can’t do this. We just don’t have the know-how and experience.
But you do, Brad.
I’m now very familiar with the extensive books written about Agatha and her world. Yet there’s an obvious topic that ISN’T covered.
How did Agatha’s extensive experience in the theater affect her novel writing?
There are the obvious ones, where she has actors as characters. Three Act Tragedy tells you that it’s theatrical in the title. Other novels got radically rewritten as stage plays, a great topic all by itself.
But were her novels and short stories affected by her theatrical work? I.e., how a plot unfolds, how characters speak, how dialog works, typical theater tricks and tropes. Only a theater expert AND an Agatha expert could write this book because only that person would recognize what’s hiding in plain sight!
I’m sure there’s plenty. The example — which might prove why I shouldn’t write this book because I’m wrong — is They Came to Baghdad. When you consider the plot carefully, Victoria Jones’ story is actually a sideshow or a magician’s sleight of hand to distract the villains from the what the magician, secretary Anna Scheele, is doing. You, dear reader, and the villains only learn at the climax that while Victoria Jones’ story is important (especially to her), it really served as a distraction.
They Do It with Mirrors might be a better choice to start with!
I’m sure I’m correct. There’s plenty of theatrical tricks and tropes in her novels but only a serious theater person would recognize them and discuss them in a definitive book that would be a worthy addition to the books written about Agatha.
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My guesses (although I’ll have to admit defeat on a couple):
1. Nsgre gur Shareny
2. N Cbpxrg Shyy bs Elr
3. Phegnva
4. Svir Yvggyr Cvtf
5. Gur cynl irefvba bs Nccbvagzrag jvgu Qrngu
6. Jvgarff sbe gur Cebfrphgvba
7. Naq Gura Gurer Jrer Abar
8. Zef. ZpTvagl’f Qrnq
9. Gur Frira Qvnyf Zlfgrel
10. Guerr Npg Gentrql
11. ??
12. Gur Zbhfrgenc
13. Frireny obbxf, ohg zbfg snzbhfyl Ol gur Cevpxvat bs Zl Guhzof
14. N Pneevoorna Zlfgrel
15. Qrngu ba gur Avyr
16. Zheqre ng gur Ivpnentr
17. ??
18. Phegnva again (?)
19. Zheqre Vf Rnfl (?)
20. Fyrrcvat Zheqre
21. Png Nzbat gur Cvtrbaf (?)
22. Gur Zheqre bs Ebtre Npxeblq
23. ??
24. Nppvqrag
25. Qrngu Pbzrf nf gur Raq
26. Urephyr Cbvebg’f Puevfgznf
27. ??
28. Arzrfvf (?)
29. Gur Ubyybj
30. 4:50 sebz Cnqqvatgba
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This was such fun! I realise I don’t recall many of the short story titles. I’ve given it my best shot though.
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What a great quiz Brad! I have a couple of blanks which I will have to think about. I am far too lazy to put my answers into ROT, but I will report back next week when the answers come up. No 5 is the stumbling block…. the others I feel I know or could track down
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