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From Baker Street to the Orient Express, fiction's great detectives have been solving the impossible for nearly two centuries.

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Where does Hercule Poirot come from?

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Case solved!

Correct! Poirot is Belgian, a former police officer who came to England as a refugee in the First World War.

A red herring!

Poirot is Belgian. He bristles whenever someone calls him French, having fled to England during the First World War.

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In which Conan Doyle story does Holmes say "Elementary, my dear Watson"?

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Case solved!

Right! The famous phrase never appears in Conan Doyle's writing; it was popularised by later films and parodies.

A red herring!

It's none of them: Holmes never says the full phrase in Conan Doyle's stories. It was popularised later by films.

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Which author created the private eye Philip Marlowe?

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Case solved!

Correct! Raymond Chandler introduced Marlowe in The Big Sleep in 1939.

A red herring!

It was Raymond Chandler, starting with The Big Sleep (1939). Hammett created Sam Spade and the Continental Op.

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Ian Rankin's Inspector John Rebus works in which city?

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Case solved!

Yes! Rebus prowls the pubs and back streets of Edinburgh, especially from his favourite, the Oxford Bar.

A red herring!

Rebus works in Edinburgh. Rankin uses the city's dark underside as a character in its own right.

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Scratch the card to reveal a detective fact

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Who is often called the first fictional detective, from 1841?

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Case solved!

Correct! Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin appeared in The Murders in the Rue Morgue in 1841, 46 years before Holmes.

A red herring!

It's C. Auguste Dupin, from Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841). Holmes came along in 1887.

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What is Lieutenant Columbo's job?

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Case solved!

Right! Columbo is a homicide lieutenant with the LAPD, famous for his crumpled raincoat and "just one more thing".

A red herring!

Columbo is an LAPD homicide lieutenant. His shabby raincoat hides one of TV's sharpest minds.

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A tall waterfall pours down a dark rocky cliff face, with green trees along the top and mist rising at its base.

After Holmes 'died' at the Reichenbach Falls, what happened?

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Case solved!

Exactly! Public outcry led Conan Doyle to bring Holmes back in The Adventure of the Empty House (1903).

A red herring!

He came back: in The Adventure of the Empty House (1903), Holmes reveals he faked his death.

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Which author created Lord Peter Wimsey?

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Case solved!

Correct! Dorothy L. Sayers introduced the aristocratic sleuth in Whose Body? in 1923.

A red herring!

It was Dorothy L. Sayers, starting with Whose Body? (1923). Christie, Allingham and Marsh were fellow 'Queens of Crime'.

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Flip the card for a clue

Conan Doyle based Holmes's deductive skill on Dr Joseph Bell, an Edinburgh surgeon who taught him at medical school.

Did you know?

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What is Miss Marple's profession?

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Case solved!

Right! Jane Marple is an elderly spinster in St Mary Mead whose knowledge of human nature solves the crimes.

A red herring!

She's an elderly amateur with no profession. Her shrewd eye for village human nature is her only tool.

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Inspector Morse's first name, long kept secret, is revealed to be what?

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Case solved!

Yes! Colin Dexter finally revealed it as Endeavour, later the title of the prequel series.

A red herring!

It's Endeavour, named after a Quaker mother's love of virtue names and Captain Cook's ship.

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A tweed deerstalker cap with a tan ribbon bow at the back, lying on a pale wooden surface.

Where did Sherlock Holmes's famous deerstalker hat first come from?

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Case solved!

Correct! Illustrator Sidney Paget drew the deerstalker in The Strand Magazine; the stories never name it.

A red herring!

It came from Sidney Paget's illustrations in The Strand Magazine. Conan Doyle's text never mentions a deerstalker.

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What nationality is Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret?

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Case solved!

Right! Although Simenon was Belgian, Maigret is a French commissaire at the Paris police headquarters.

A red herring!

Maigret is French, working in Paris at 36 Quai des Orfèvres, even though his creator Simenon was Belgian.

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Drag the slider to reveal the fact

Who has played Sherlock Holmes most?

Holmes is among the most portrayed fictional characters in film and TV, played by well over 250 actors.

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Who created the crime-solving priest Father Brown?

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Case solved!

Correct! G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown first appeared in 1910 and solves crimes through insight into sin.

A red herring!

It was G. K. Chesterton, from 1910. Father Brown's understanding of sinners is his secret weapon.

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In how many novels does Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade appear?

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Case solved!

Right! Spade stars in only one novel, The Maltese Falcon (1930), plus a few short stories.

A red herring!

Just one: The Maltese Falcon (1930). The 1941 Bogart film made him seem far more prolific.

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Andrea Camilleri's Commissario Montalbano works where?

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Case solved!

Correct! Montalbano works in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigàta, inspired by Porto Empedocle.

A red herring!

He works in Sicily, in the fictional town of Vigàta, based on Camilleri's home town of Porto Empedocle.

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How did you rate our case of the quiz?

 
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See your answers · all right

  1. Question 1:

    Where does Hercule Poirot come from?

  2. Question 2:

    In which Conan Doyle story does Holmes say "Elementary, my dear Watson"?

  3. Question 3:

    Which author created the private eye Philip Marlowe?

  4. Question 4:

    Ian Rankin's Inspector John Rebus works in which city?

  5. Question 5:

    Who is often called the first fictional detective, from 1841?

  6. Question 6:

    What is Lieutenant Columbo's job?

  7. Question 7:

    A tall waterfall pours down a dark rocky cliff face, with green trees along the top and mist rising at its base.

    After Holmes 'died' at the Reichenbach Falls, what happened?

  8. Question 8:

    Which author created Lord Peter Wimsey?

  9. Question 9:

    What is Miss Marple's profession?

  10. Question 10:

    Inspector Morse's first name, long kept secret, is revealed to be what?

  11. Question 11:

    A tweed deerstalker cap with a tan ribbon bow at the back, lying on a pale wooden surface.

    Where did Sherlock Holmes's famous deerstalker hat first come from?

  12. Question 12:

    What nationality is Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret?

  13. Question 13:

    Who created the crime-solving priest Father Brown?

  14. Question 14:

    In how many novels does Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade appear?

  15. Question 15:

    Andrea Camilleri's Commissario Montalbano works where?

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