Quiz of the Day
Detective Fiction & Whodunits
Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Agatha Christie was born on 15 Sep 1890 — covering great fictional detectives, mystery novels and the art of the whodunit
1. Which fussy, mustachioed Belgian detective did Agatha Christie create?
- Hercule Poirot
- Philip Marlowe
- Sam Spade
- Auguste Dupin
Hercule Poirot first appeared in Christie's debut novel, 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' (1920), as a Belgian refugee and retired police officer living in England. Christie grew so tired of her fastidious creation that she once called him 'insufferable,' yet he starred in more than 30 novels. His egg-shaped head and immaculate mustache became some of fiction's most recognisable features.
2. Who created the detective Sherlock Holmes?
- Wilkie Collins
- Raymond Chandler
- G.K. Chesterton
- Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle introduced Sherlock Holmes in 'A Study in Scarlet' in 1887. Doyle based Holmes partly on Dr. Joseph Bell, a surgeon he studied under in Edinburgh who could deduce a patient's occupation and history from small observations. Doyle so wanted to move on to 'serious' writing that he killed Holmes off in 1893, only to revive him years later after public outcry.
3. At what London address does Sherlock Holmes famously reside?
- 12 Grimmauld Place
- 10 Downing Street
- 4 Privet Drive
- 221B Baker Street
Holmes shares his lodgings at 221B Baker Street with Dr. Watson, cared for by their landlady Mrs. Hudson. When the stories were written, no such street number actually existed. Today the site houses the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and the address still receives letters addressed to the detective from around the world.
4. Who is Sherlock Holmes's loyal companion and the narrator of most of his cases?
- Dr. John Watson
- Professor Moriarty
- Inspector Lestrade
- Mycroft Holmes
Dr. John Watson is an army doctor who was wounded while serving in the Second Anglo-Afghan War before meeting Holmes. As narrator, he acts as the reader's stand-in, often baffled by the deductions Holmes finds obvious. His frequent role of asking the questions readers want answered helped establish the 'sidekick' template still used in detective fiction today.
5. In which fictional English village does Agatha Christie's spinster sleuth Miss Marple live?
- Ambridge
- St Mary Mead
- Little Whinging
- Midsomer
Jane Marple is an elderly, unmarried lady who solves crimes from her quiet home in the village of St Mary Mead. Her method is to compare suspects to people she has known in village life, trusting that human nature repeats itself everywhere. Christie reportedly modelled Miss Marple partly on her own grandmother and her grandmother's circle of sharp-eyed friends.
6. Which Agatha Christie novel is often cited as the best-selling crime novel of all time?
- And Then There Were None
- The Body in the Library
- The ABC Murders
- Death on the Nile
'And Then There Were None' (1939) follows ten strangers lured to an isolated island and killed off one by one. It has sold well over 100 million copies, making it one of the best-selling books in any genre. Unusually for Christie, the story features no recurring detective — the mystery is solved through a confession revealed after the deaths.
7. What is the name of Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play that became the longest-running show in the world?
- Sleuth
- Witness for the Prosecution
- An Inspector Calls
- The Mousetrap
'The Mousetrap' opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously for decades, briefly pausing only during the COVID-19 pandemic. By tradition, audiences are asked at the end of each performance not to reveal the identity of the murderer. The play grew out of Christie's earlier short story 'Three Blind Mice.'
8. Aboard which famous train is a murder investigated by Hercule Poirot in a classic Christie novel?
- The Flying Scotsman
- The Orient Express
- The Trans-Siberian Express
- The Hogwarts Express
'Murder on the Orient Express' (1934) traps Poirot on a luxury train halted by a snowdrift with a killer among the passengers. Christie herself had travelled on the real Orient Express and was fascinated by the glamour of long-distance rail journeys. The novel's famous solution is one of the most discussed twists in detective fiction.
9. What does Hercule Poirot repeatedly credit for solving his cases?
- Elementary deduction
- His trusty revolver
- The little grey cells
- His magnifying glass
Poirot insists that crimes are solved not by crawling around for clues but by using 'the little grey cells' of the brain — reasoning through psychology and logic. He values order and method, disliking physical exertion and mess. The catchphrase became so associated with the character that it now serves as shorthand for armchair deduction.
10. Which hard-boiled private eye did Raymond Chandler create?
- Philip Marlowe
- Lew Archer
- Mike Hammer
- Nero Wolfe
Philip Marlowe debuted in Chandler's first novel, 'The Big Sleep' (1939), and became the archetype of the tough, wisecracking Los Angeles detective. Marlowe narrates in a cynical, poetic voice that made Chandler's prose as celebrated as his plots. Humphrey Bogart famously played him in the 1946 film adaptation of 'The Big Sleep.'
11. Which detective investigates the case in Dashiell Hammett's 'The Maltese Falcon'?
- Sam Spade
- Nick Charles
- Continental Op
- Ellery Queen
Sam Spade is a cool, morally ambiguous San Francisco private investigator who appears in only one Hammett novel plus a few short stories. 'The Maltese Falcon' (1930) helped define the hard-boiled detective genre with its treacherous characters and jewel-encrusted bird. Humphrey Bogart's portrayal in the 1941 film cemented Spade as a screen icon.
12. Dorothy L. Sayers created which aristocratic amateur detective?
- Lord Peter Wimsey
- Albert Campion
- Father Brown
- Roderick Alleyn
Lord Peter Wimsey, a witty English aristocrat with a monocle and a passion for rare books, first appeared in 'Whose Body?' (1923). Sayers gave him a serious side, exploring the psychological toll of sending criminals to the gallows. She later gave up detective fiction to focus on translating Dante and writing religious drama.
13. Which author created C. Auguste Dupin, widely regarded as the first modern fictional detective?
- Wilkie Collins
- Charles Dickens
- Edgar Allan Poe
- Émile Gaboriau
Edgar Allan Poe introduced the brilliant amateur sleuth C. Auguste Dupin in 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' (1841), decades before Sherlock Holmes. Poe pioneered devices still central to the genre, including the eccentric genius detective and the admiring narrator-companion. Conan Doyle openly acknowledged Poe's influence on his own creation of Holmes.
14. In which novel does Hercule Poirot appear for the final time and meet his death?
- Elephants Can Remember
- Sleeping Murder
- Curtain
- Hallowe'en Party
'Curtain: Poirot's Last Case' was actually written by Christie during World War II and locked away for decades before its publication in 1975. In it, the ageing detective returns to Styles, the setting of his first case, for a final showdown. When Poirot died, The New York Times ran a front-page obituary — the only fictional character ever to be honoured that way.
15. Agatha Christie is popularly known by which royal-sounding nickname?
- The Queen of Crime
- The Baroness of Blood
- The Countess of Clues
- The Duchess of Death
Agatha Christie's enormous output and popularity earned her the title 'Queen of Crime.' She is recognised as the best-selling novelist of all time, with her books estimated to have sold around two billion copies worldwide. Only the Bible and the works of Shakespeare are commonly said to have outsold her.