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Quiz about The Mysterious Case of the Missing Novelist
Quiz about The Mysterious Case of the Missing Novelist

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Novelist Quiz


The writer, Agatha Christie, had disappeared, prompting rumours of suicide and murder. Or was it simply a publicity stunt? (Information according to "The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Unsolved Mysteries", Colin and Damon Wilson).

A multiple-choice quiz by fringe. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Author
fringe
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
114,570
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Very Difficult
Avg Score
4 / 10
Plays
2803
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: Guest 82 (7/10), DarkouQ (8/10), Guest 172 (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. It was early December, and freezing cold when 36 year old Agatha Christie disappeared into the night, leaving behind a seemingly enviable life. What was the year? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Police divers, suspecting suicide, investigated the Silent Pool, a 'bottomless' lake close to where her car had been found, (a character in one of her books had drowned here!). Nothing was discovered, but a few days later, in an isolated hut nearby, items of female clothing were found together with something which resulted in a frenzy of reporters descending on the area. What else was discovered in the hut? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Word was spreading that Agatha's husband, Archibald Christie, might stand to gain from the death of his wife, but he had an alibi for the night of her disappearance. Where was he? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The mystery deepened when it was revealed that her brother-in-law, Campbell, had received a letter from Agatha, saying that she was going on holiday. This letter had been sent the day after her disappearance. Where did the postmark show that the letter had been posted? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Eleven days after she disappeared, Agatha Christie was found. Who discovered her? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Having been informed of his wife's discovery, Colonel Christie travelled to be reunited with her, finding that she had been living under what assumed name? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Prior to her disappearance, Agatha's novels had not been selling particularly well, although her latest novel, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" had been the subject of some controversy due to its "unfair" ending. However, her next novel sold more than twice as many copies than its predecessor, despite being panned by the critics. What was her first novel after her 'comeback'? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. As much as he loathed publicity, Archie eventually agreed to give an interview following his wife's re-emergence. What did he tell the journalist was the the reason for her disappearance? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Earlier in the year Agatha had suffered a personal setback, which, some said, may have affected her state of mind, so prompting her disappearance. What had so upset her? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. After Agatha Christie's death on 12th January 1976, it seemed that the truth may have finally emerged. Why did she really disappear? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 82: 7/10
Mar 03 2024 : DarkouQ: 8/10
Feb 19 2024 : Guest 172: 7/10
Feb 12 2024 : Devmac: 1/10
Feb 04 2024 : Guest 120: 3/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. It was early December, and freezing cold when 36 year old Agatha Christie disappeared into the night, leaving behind a seemingly enviable life. What was the year?

Answer: 1926

Around 9.45 pm on the 3rd December Agatha Christie climbed into her two-seater Morris car outside her home, a large house called 'Styles', in Berkshire and drove away. The following morning her car was discovered a dozen or so miles away, near Guildford, Surrey, its front end buried in a clump of bushes half way down a bank.
2. Police divers, suspecting suicide, investigated the Silent Pool, a 'bottomless' lake close to where her car had been found, (a character in one of her books had drowned here!). Nothing was discovered, but a few days later, in an isolated hut nearby, items of female clothing were found together with something which resulted in a frenzy of reporters descending on the area. What else was discovered in the hut?

Answer: A bottle labelled "opium"

The journalists found they had made the trip in vain, the bottle in fact only contained a harmless stomach remedy, and had no bearing on the case at all.
3. Word was spreading that Agatha's husband, Archibald Christie, might stand to gain from the death of his wife, but he had an alibi for the night of her disappearance. Where was he?

Answer: At a weekend party in Surrey with his mistress

Archibald had recently fallen in love with a girl ten years younger than himself, a typist by the name of Nancy Neele, who he had met on the golf course. Nancy was well known to Agatha and had spent many weekends with the Christies, although Agatha had no idea that the girl was having an affair with her husband.
4. The mystery deepened when it was revealed that her brother-in-law, Campbell, had received a letter from Agatha, saying that she was going on holiday. This letter had been sent the day after her disappearance. Where did the postmark show that the letter had been posted?

Answer: London

Having found her car abandoned in Surrey at 11.00 am, the police were puzzled when it turned out that she had posted several letters in London a few hours earlier, not least of which, apparently, was one to her local police chief setting out fears she had for her life.
5. Eleven days after she disappeared, Agatha Christie was found. Who discovered her?

Answer: A waiter in a hotel in Yorkshire

Agatha's story, with accompanying pictures, had been appearing in the newspapers since she went missing. When the 'Daily News' offered a reward for any information, reports of sightings flooded in, but all turned out to be false alarms. It transpired that she had been staying in a room on the third floor of the Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire for a week and a half when the head waiter recognised her and contacted the local police.
6. Having been informed of his wife's discovery, Colonel Christie travelled to be reunited with her, finding that she had been living under what assumed name?

Answer: Teresa Neele

Agatha checked into the hotel using the second name of her husband's mistress, saying that she was a visitor from South Africa. When he arrived at the hotel Archibald found her in the dining room, reading an account of the ongoing investigation into her disappearance in the evening newspaper. When confronted, she seemed to be unsure of his identity.
7. Prior to her disappearance, Agatha's novels had not been selling particularly well, although her latest novel, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" had been the subject of some controversy due to its "unfair" ending. However, her next novel sold more than twice as many copies than its predecessor, despite being panned by the critics. What was her first novel after her 'comeback'?

Answer: The Big Four

After having initially sold nine thousand copies, "The Big Four" heralded a major upturn in Agatha's popularity, and her subsequent books sold in increasing numbers, prompting speculation that her disappearance was nothing more than a publicity stunt.
8. As much as he loathed publicity, Archie eventually agreed to give an interview following his wife's re-emergence. What did he tell the journalist was the the reason for her disappearance?

Answer: She had lost her memory

No-one of course believed Archie's story, least of all the Surrey police who, on his return to 'Styles', presented him with a bill for the cost of the search, which incidentally he refused to pay. Questions were also asked in the House of Commons, where the whole episode was denounced as a "cruel hoax".
9. Earlier in the year Agatha had suffered a personal setback, which, some said, may have affected her state of mind, so prompting her disappearance. What had so upset her?

Answer: Her mother died

In April, 1926 Agatha was on the way to visit her mother, who was suffering from bronchitis, when she had a sudden strong feeling that her mother had already died, and was devastated to find on her arrival that her premonition was correct.
10. After Agatha Christie's death on 12th January 1976, it seemed that the truth may have finally emerged. Why did she really disappear?

Answer: To spite her husband and spoil his weekend

Having been told by Archie that he was in love with a younger woman and wanted a divorce, Agatha staged her disappearance with the help of her sister-in-law, Nan, maybe in the hope of persuading him to stay with her. Unfortunately the prank back-fired when the letter she sent to Campbell, in order to ensure that she would be found quickly, was mislaid by him before he had read it properly.

She had not anticipated the intense media coverage, and hated the publicity she had unwittingly courted, having no desire to publicly admit that her seemingly idyllic life was not as it seemed, and her husband's infidelity was in fact the cause of her disappearance.

The incident did not help her relationship with Archie either, and two years later they were divorced.

He married Nancy Neele and Agatha, some years later, met and married archaeologist Max Mallowan, fourteen years her junior.
Source: Author fringe

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor thejazzkickazz before going online.
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