Agatha Christie's Foreign Titles 2 Quiz

Answer: Murder on the Orient Express

In terms of volume of sales, "Murder on the Orient Express" is the overall second best-selling novel in the crime genre worldwide, beaten only by "And Then There Were None".

German publishers chose to rename it "The Woman in the Kimono" because they thought it sounded more intriguing. In this story, the woman in the kimono was a classic red herring. However, most of the foreign titles are either direct translations of the original title or variations on it; for example, "The Crime of the Orient Express" (France), "Murder in the Eastern Express" (Russia), "Orient Express Murder Incident" (Japan) and "The Mystery of the Orient Express" (Finland).

In the United States, it was published in 1934 under the title "Murder in the Calais Coach". The reason for the name change was to prevent confusion with Graham Greene's "Orient Express" which had been published two years earlier. Ironically, Graham Greene's novel was originally titled "Stamboul Train" but the American publisher changed the name because they felt that the Orient Express was much more famous and recognisable than the Stamboul Train and the title change would be more appealing to their readers.

Answer: Lord Edgware Dies

Italian publishers changed the name of "Lord Edgware Dies" to "If My Husband Died" because they considered the latter title to be more dramatic and intriguing. French publishers changed it to "The Knife at the Nape of the Neck" because they favoured titles that highlighted the nature of the crime rather than just naming the victim.

In Spain, it was changed to "The Death of Lord Edgware". The USA and Germany published it as "Thirteen at Dinner", focusing on Lady Edgware's alibi and highlighting the superstitious aspect of the number 13 being unlucky.

Answer: After the Funeral

After the funeral of her brother, Richard Abernethie, his sister, Cora Lansquenet, startles the family by declaring that he must have been murdered. The family dismisses the remark as being typical of Cora's eccentricity but then Cora herself is murdered the following day.

The German title, "The Bouquet of Wax Flowers", is based on a casual comment by the killer that turns out to be the clue that leads to their exposure. It is a clue that could be easily overlooked if you weren't paying attention but in the German edition, the title highlights its significance.

Other foreign title changes include "Funerals are Fatal" (USA), "Funerals are Dangerous" (Hungary and Sweden) and "The Indiscretions of Hercule Poirot" (France). The latter title is a bit misleading because the indiscretions referred to are not those of Poirot himself but indiscretions by members of the family which Poirot has to process during his investigation.

Answer: A Pocket Full of Rye

In "A Pocket Full of Rye", Rex Fortescue died at his office and police discovered grains of rye in his pocket. He had been poisoned with taxine, a lethal alkaloid toxin derived from yew trees, which were plentiful on his estate. The deaths of his wife and housemaid followed. When Miss Marple arrived to investigate, she realized the killings followed the pattern of the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" and discovered a connection to the family's Blackbird Mine, a seemingly worthless gold mine.

These plot points provide the bases for the alternative foreign titles - "A Handful of Rye" (France), "The Secret of the Gold Mine" (Germany), "The Blackbird Mystery" (Indonesia) and "The Yew Murder" (Turkey). As is typical, the foreign titles tend to lessen the association with the nursery rhyme.

The first verse of the nursery rhyme is:
Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.

Answer: Death in the Clouds

The plot of the novel "Death in the Clouds" involves the murder of a French moneylender, Marie Angelique Morisot, known as Madame Giselle. She was killed by a poison dart while on a flight from France to England.

Almost all the foreign titles are direct translations of either the original British title, "Death in the Clouds", or the US title, "Death in the Air". Notable exceptions are "A Crime in the Sky" (Italy), "The Flying Death" (Finland) and "Murder in the Clouds" (China).

Answer: Cards on the Table

Unlike some of Agatha Christie's other works, the titles of international editions of "Cards on the Table" are usually a literal translation of the original. This is most likely because the idiom of "laying one's cards on the table" (that is, showing one's hand or being completely honest and transparent) is a common saying in many cultures, particularly European and English-speaking countries.

If not a direct translation of the original title, the changed titles almost always mention the cards; for example, "A Corpse While Playing Cards" (Hindi), "Playing Cards on the Table" (Arabic), "With Open Cards" (Germany and Hungary), "Open the Playing Cards" (Armenia), and "The Opened Playing Cards" or "The Spread Trump Cards" (Japan).

Answer: The Murder at the Vicarage

"The Murder at the Vicarage" is the first Miss Marple novel (although it should be noted that she had previously appeared in short stories). In this story, the unpopular Colonel Lucius Protheroe, the churchwarden and local magistrate in the village of St Mary Mead, is murdered in the vicar's study.

The French and Greek titles, "The Protheroe Affair" and "The Colonel's Murderer" respectively, focus on Colonel Protheroe as the victim, whereas most of the international titles focus on the vicarage as the venue - "Murder in the Rectory/Parish House" (Germany), "The Mystery of the Residence" (China), "Death in the Vicarage" (Spain), "Murder at the Vicar's House" (Russia) and "Fear in the House" (Turkey). But the prize for pure sensationalism for marketing purposes must go to the alternative Turkish title, "Scream of Death" - since there was absolutely no screaming associated with the death, the discovery of the body or the unmasking and apprehension of the killer or killers.

Answer: Sleeping Murder

Agatha Christie's "Sleeping Murder" was published posthumously in 1976 shortly after her death but she wrote it some time during World War II, likely between 1940 and 1941, during the Blitz. It is Agatha Christie's final novel featuring Miss Marple and this is reflected in the Nordic title "Miss Marple's Last Case" (Sweden, Norway, Finland), as well as "Goodbye Miss Marple" (Italy) and "The Last Riddle" (France).

Some of the foreign titles reflect the "sleeping" aspect of the original title and the fact that the story is about solving a murder which was not recognised as a murder for 18 years; for example, "A Sleeping Crime" (Spain), "Murder from the Past" (The Netherlands), "Forgotten Murder" (Czech Republic/Slovakia, Turkey), and "Rest Unpeacefully" and "Ungentle Rest" (Germany).

Answer: Endless Night

The novel "Endless Night" begins with the words, "In my end is my beginning" and they are repeated at its conclusion. [The quote originally comes from Mary, Queen of Scots, who embroidered it (in French) on her cloth of estate while imprisoned in England. A cloth of estate is a fabric canopy hanging behind and above a throne as a symbol of royalty and high rank]. The Italian publishers used this well-known quote for the title of their publication.

Most foreign titles tend to be variations of the original one; for example, "The Night That Never Ends" (France), "Night and Darkness" (Poland), and "Night Without End" (Portugal, Indonesia). It is also known as "Murder Made to Measure" (Germany) and "The Hell of the Hidden Murders" (Romania).

Answer: Mrs McGinty's Dead

Mrs McGinty was a charwoman who was murdered by being struck on the back of her head with a sharp, heavy implement. Her lodger, James Bentley, was convicted of the crime and condemned to death by hanging; however, Superintendent Spence was not convinced that Bentley did it, and appealed to Hercule Poirot to investigate to prevent a miscarriage of justice.

Agatha Christie's original title was "Mrs McGinty's Dead". In keeping with her habit of using nursery rhymes and literary references for her titles, "Mrs McGinty's Dead" refers to an old British children's game, which is explained in the opening chapter of the novel. The US publishers felt the title lacked suspense, so they changed it to "Blood Will Tell", a reference to the fact that the killer murdered Mrs McGinty to prevent their ancestry being exposed.

Alternative foreign titles include "Four Women and a Murder" (Germany), "Poirot Returns" (The Netherlands), and "Stop the Hangman" (Italy).