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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 85 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Hercule Poirot
Curtain. His last case takes place in 'Styles' again. It's quite an unusual novel.
Vera Rossakoff. Poirot meets the Russian countess in a short story and he falls in love with her - but she's a clever thief. They meet again in 'The Big Four' - where Poirot finds her missing son - and in 'The Labours of Hercules', where she owns a night club called 'Hell'.
| 'Death On The Nile' is one of Poirot's (and Agatha's) most popular cases. Who did NOT star in the movie? | Hercule Poirot
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Diana Rigg. I like the movie though I'm sad that they left the Allerton's out. Diana Rigg played Arlena in 'Evil Under The Sun'. Maggie Smith was also in that {movie;} in 'Death on the Nile' she played Bowers. Sir Peter played Poirot, and Angela Lansbury had a wonderful performance as the always drunk novelist Salome Otterbourne. Furthermore, the movie starred Lois Chiles, Mia Farrow, David Niven, Bette Davis and Olivia Hussey.
| Who helped Poirot solve the murder of Linna Doyle ('Death on the Nile')? | Hercule Poirot
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Colonel Race. Race also appears in 'Cards On The Table'. He works for the Secret Service and is always on some top secret mission. Race also plays an important role in a Christie novel called 'The Man In The Brown Suit'.
Since I received a lot of notes concerning Mrs Doyle's first name, I'd like to make this clear again: In my version of the book (the German translation), it is said that her name is Linnet, but everyone calls her Linna, so I used this name, too. Sorry if that confused some of you, but since the answer doesn't refer to the name, it shouldn't influence your score.
Dumb Witness. Bob, the clever terrier, belonged to Emily Arundell who had an accident. Everyone thought she stepped on Bob's ball and therefore fell down the stairs, but this wasn't true... Not very much later, the murderer tried again and succeeded. When Poirot had solved the case, he got Bob, and Hastings was really happy about that. But 'Bobsy' never appeared again in the Poirot books... maybe Hastings took him to Argentina.
Cinderella . Hastings and Dulcie Duveen met in 'Murder on the Links'. They got married and moved, together with Dulcie's sister Bella, to South America. Have you noticed, in 'The Big Four', Hastings talks about his wife and calls her 'Bella'... What the hell was going on there in Argentina?
| For many years, Poirot had his butler Georges, but in 'Curtain' he had his reaons to engage another one. What's his name? | Hercule Poirot
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Curtiss. One of Poirot's most psychological cases: He wants to catch a brillant murderer who never comes near his victims, but influences others to commit the crime - Poirot compares him to Jago from Shakespeare's 'Othello'. Poirot is old, but he only pretends to need a wheelchair. Curtiss is stronger than Georges, and he has to carry Poirot - and Poirot has other reasons to get rid of Georges...
| On which case did Poirot and Inspector Japp NOT work together? | Hercule Poirot
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The Clocks. 'Styles' was their first case together after Poirot had come to England (and was Christie's first novel, anyway). They also solved the mysteries about Jane Wilkinson and Alexander Bonaparte Cust. In 'The Clocks', a great novel about spies and secrets, Poirot works with Inspector Hardcastle and Colin Lamb (who could very likely be the son of Superintendent Battle who also sometimes worked with Poirot).
| He wasn't real, but I'll ask anyway: What was the name of Poirot's 'twin brother' and in which case did he appear? | Hercule Poirot
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Achille ('The Big Four'). Thank God I had to read 'Antigone' in school, or otherwise I wouldn't have known the French names of three other ancient Greek heroes for the multiple choice! Poirot told Hastings he had a twin brother, so that he could fake his own death and yet go on investigating.
| What was the name of the female novelist who helped Poirot in mysteries such as 'Elephants Can Remember' and 'Cards on the Table'? | Hercule Poirot
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Ariadne Oliver. Ariadne first appeared in 'Parker Pyne Investigates' in 1934, but was already an old friend of Poirot. I have even heard talk of Ariadne's character being based on Agatha Christie herself.
| In a 1963 book Poirot met Colin Lamb, the son of Superintendent Battle. Which book was this? | Hercule Poirot
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The Clocks . I didn't think this was one of Christie's best works, as it seemed very straightforward, and I was unsure of Poirot's role. Colin Lamb, however, was a nice character - a spy who fell in love with a female suspect in the murder case!
5ft 4ins. In 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' Hastings explained in his narrative: 'Hardly more than 5ft 4ins but carried himself with great dignity'.
| In how many Agatha Christie novels (NOT short stories) did Poirot solve a case? | Hercule Poirot
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33. From 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' to 'Curtain: Poirot's Last Case'. Poirot was the first fictional character to have a front page obituary in the 'New York Times'.
| A librarian from Newfoundland has written a book 'The Life and Times of Hercule Poirot'. What is this clever woman's name? | Hercule Poirot
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Anne Hart. Anne Hart's book was first published in 1990, and the amount of detail she has gleaned from Poirot books is amazing. She has also written a similar book about Jane Marple.
All of these (His moustache, His egg-shaped head, His little grey cells). Poirot is also famous for his total lack of modesty (some would call it pomposity!), his need for order and symmetry and his love of sweet liqueurs such as creme de menthe and syrop de cassis.
| Poirot first appeared in the novel 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles'. What year was this novel first published? | Hercule Poirot
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1920. The story had Poirot investigating a typical country house murder. Mrs Inglethorp was poisoned at Styles House in the English village of Styles St. Mary. Poirot came to England as a refugee after World War I, and his time in the Belgian police force. He was already a force to be reckoned with!
| In 'Murder on the Orient Express' how many times had the victim been stabbed? | Hercule Poirot
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12. The victim was an American named Ratchett, and the murder was not as cut and dried as it seemed. This novel is also known as 'Murder on the Calais Coach' in the U.S., and is widely regarded as one of Christie's best works.
| Which actor portrayed Poirot in the 1982 film 'Evil Under the Sun'? | Hercule Poirot
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Peter Ustinov. Peter Ustinov made Poirot humourous, which to me was a good thing. He portrayed Poirot in other films such as 'Death on the Nile' and 'Appointment with Death'. Poirot has been portrayed by many actors such as Albert Finney and David Suchet. In the '30s he was played by Austin Trevor and in 1965 by Tony Randall. More recently Alfred Molina played Poirot in a remake of 'Murder on the Orient Express'.
Espionage. Later Dr Bauerstein is released with no charge, but John Cavendish is arrested before Poirot explains everything. The murderer was Alfred Inglethorp and his accomplice - who pretended to be him who purchased the strychnine at the chemist - was none other than Miss Evelyn Howard. They were distant cousins, but they were also lovers, who planned to profit from Mrs Inglethorp's death. Poirot says that he and Hastings may hunt again one day. I hope you have enjoyed my quiz...look out for more soon!
Cocoa. At the inquest Mr Mace, the chemist, admits to selling strychnine to Mr Inglethorp the evening before the death. He had said it was to poison a dog, and he also signed the poison register. Mr Inglethorp denies doing so, and shows that his signature is different to the one in the poison register. We are also introduced to Detective Inspector James (Jimmy) Japp, who has worked with Poirot before. Poirot believes somebody was pretending to be Mr Inglethorp at the chemist, buying the strychnine.
John. Poirot finds five coffee cups, from the night before, and takes a sample from each. Lawrence believes that his mother's death is due to heart failure. Mrs Inglethorp left her fortune to John in her last will but now it goes to her husband since she married. Poirot calls to the gardener; he and the under gardener signed a piece of paper for Mrs Inglethorp only the day before, and also went for a will form for her. This was the will which was burnt in the grate.
A empty box of sleeping pills. Poirot and Hastings find various clues as well as a fragment of a will in the grate. Poirot and Hastings also find a piece of paper with "possessed" written on it, in various sentences and in various ways. Dorcas the parlour maid overheard a quarrel between Mr and Mrs Inglethorp the day before, and also that Mrs Inglethorp mislaid her keys to the dispatch case too, so she had a new one made.
Strychnine poisoning. As Hastings makes his way to Poirot, Mr Inglethorp returns to Styles. He had stayed at his friend's as he realised he did not have his latchkey after all. Poirot agrees to investigate the death. It is suspected that strychnine was added to Emily's coffee at teatime but she did not die until much later.
Cynthia's. Lawrence awakens Hastings; his mother seems to be ill but her door is bolted. The door is finally broken down, Mrs Inglethorp is in bed, she seems to be having some sort of attack. With her dying breath she utters her husband's name. Doctor Bauerstein, who was passing, cannot help her. Mr Inglethorp is not home yet. Hastings asks John's permission to tell Poirot about the death.
At the post office. After visiting Cynthia's dispensary with Lawrence, Hastings goes to the local post office and meets an old friend, Hercule Poirot. Poirot is a retired Belgian police detective and also a refugee staying in the village of Styles with seven other Belgians. Mr Inglethorp goes out after tea with Doctor Bauerstein who has called in unexpectedly. Mr Inglethorp takes his latchkey with him, so nobody needs to wait up.
Rest cure. Doctor John Bauerstein has had a nervous breakdown. He is a London specialist, an expert on poisons. He is a good friend of Mary Cavendish. It is rumoured that Alfred Inglethorp is having an affair with Mrs Raikes, a local farmer's wife.
July. Hastings likes Mary Cavendish, John's wife, immediately, and also Cynthia Murdoch. Cynthia lives at Styles, her mother was a friend of Mrs Inglethorp's, but she isn't really one of the family. Cynthia works in the dispensary of the local hospital. There is also Evelyn (Evie) Howard, Mrs Inglethorp's secretary and a distant relation to Alfred Inglethorp.
Sussex. Hastings is invalided home from World War One, and a friend of his, John Cavendish, invites him to stay at Styles Court. John is married and also has a younger brother, Lawrence. They all live at Styles Court, which belongs to John's stepmother Mrs Emily Inglethorp. Emily has recently married Alfred Inglethorp who is many years younger than her, which is not popular with the other inhabitants of Styles Court.
Murder hunt. The murder hunt goes wrong when somebody really is murdered. Poirot is at hand to help however. Look out for more Agatha Christie quizzes soon!
One. Poirot and Hastings manage to defeat the criminal gang, before Hastings returns to Argentina, to his wife.
| X is for "Hercule Poirot's Christmas". Simeon Lee is the victim, and there were lots of people who wanted to kill him. What sort of jewels did he have hidden? | Hercule Poirot's A to Z (nearly!)
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Diamonds. Simeon is murdered. He had lots of children - legitimate and illegitimate. Poirot is staying in the area so assists in solving the case.
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