The World of Agatha Christie is a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle created by illustrator Ilya Milstein for Laurence King Publishing. Agatha Christie is depicted in the centre of the picture, and the room she is in is filled with objects referencing her life and literary works.
A large fold out colour poster of the puzzle is provided. Users are challenged to find up to 90 objects which references the life or works of Agatha Christie. On the reverse side of the poster is a brief biography of Christie as well as an annotated answer key to the 90 objects in the puzzle, although there are conceivably more than 90 of them as some objects are not labelled.
Objects in the puzzle[]
(warning - this contains spoilers - click on expand to read)
The puzzle is 68 cm x 48 cm. The co-ordinates are in cm in (x,y) format. The x axis runs from left to right and the y axis from bottom to top. So the bottom left corner is 0,0.
Serial numbers 1-90 are the original objects given in the answer key provided with the puzzle. Serial numbers beyond 90 refer to objects not found in the answer key.
# | Object | Co-ordinates | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Roller skates | 8,13 | The young Christie used to roller skate on Princess Pier, Torquay. |
2 | Nurse's uniform | 10,17 | Christie volunteered as a VAD nurse during World War 1. |
3 | Torquay Town Hall | 1,40 | Where Christie worked as a VAD nurse, 1914-1915 |
4 | Poison bottle | 9,32 | Christie developed her expertise in poisons while working as a dispenser with the VAD after her stint as a nurse |
5 | Notebook | 30,18 | Christie jotted down plot lines and ideas in notebooks before developing them into stories. Many have been published in Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making. |
6 | Moustaches | 5,26 | Such as on her famous Belgian detective. In her An Autobiography, Christie wrote about how her character gradually took form but surprisingly, among the various attributes, a moustache is not mentioned. |
7 | Hercule Poirot | 26,13 | |
8 | Strychnine | 58,18 | Agatha Christie deployed stychnine in her first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles |
9 | Secret papers | 66,14 | Such as in The Secret Adversary. |
10 | Picture of Agatha Christie on board the Kildonan Castle | 21,40 | Agatha Christie traveled to South African on this ship as part of her Grand Tour. This ship is the inspiration for the Kilmorden Castle in The Man in the Brown Suit. |
11 | surfboard | 14,24 | Christie learnt to surf at Muizenberg in South Africa while on her Grand Tour. |
12 | souvenirs | 13,33 | Representative of the souvenirs she collected on her Grand Tour. |
13 | surfing | 59,39 | Christie also surfed in Hawaii, and was reportedly the first European woman to learn to surf standing up. |
14 | Niagara Falls | 3,38 | Christie visited the Niagara Falls on her Grand Tour. |
15 | Suitcase | 62,1 | Representative of Christie's lifelong love of travel. |
16 | Tisane | 44,5 | One of Poirot's favourite drinks |
17 | Crème de menthe | 39,2 | Another of Poirot's famous drinks |
18 | Card house | 27,6 | Poirot liked to build card houses to calm his nerves. E.g. Peril at End House, Three Act Tragedy. |
19 | Patent leather shoes | 63,10 | A favourite footwear of Poirot's |
20 | Morris Cowley | 50,23 | The first car owned by Agatha Christie |
21 | Orient Express | 57,34 | In 1928 Agatha Christie traveled to the Middle-east on the Orient Express. Later this famous train was the setting for her novel Murder on the Orient Express |
22 | Jane Marple | 40,14 | A new detective character which Christie first wrote about in 1930 [[Murder at the Vicarage]. |
23 | Binoculars | 57,26 | Birdwatching was a hobby of Miss Marple. This gave her an excuse to observe her surroundings carefully without appearing suspicious. |
24 | Knitting | 64,27 | Another hobby of Miss Marple. This allowed her to "get involved" with local activities and get to know locals in the places she was visiting. |
25 | Cowslip wine | 59,33 | Suitable for calming people. Miss Marple offers Elspeth McGillicuddy one in 4.50 from Paddington |
26 | Giant's Bread | 26,3 | Cover of first edition |
27 | Harlequin's mask | 62,22 | Representative of Mr Quin |
28 | Parker Pyne's newspaper advertisement | 8,1 | Representative of Parker Pyne |
29 | Tub of apples | 24,14 | Representative of Ariadne Oliver, also features in Hallowe'en Party |
30 | Eric the skull | 29,35 | Agatha Christie helped found the Detection Club in 1930. New members swore an oath by placing their hand on Eric the skull. |
31 | Winterbrook | 62,42 | |
32 | The River Dart | 24,26 | |
33 | Agatha Christie's mug | 29,1 | |
34 | Mural | 27,40 | This is in the style of the frieze on the wall of the library at Greenway. Here it has reimagined with depictions of scenes from her books. |
35 | Picture of Devon | 45,40 | Devon was the source of inspiration for many of her stories. |
36 | camera | 56,35 | Agatha Christie helped at Max Mallowan's archaeological excavations by photographing the artefacts. As did Victoria Jones in They Came to Baghdad. |
37 | Pyramids | 33,38 | Several novels were set in Egypt. Agatha Christie much time here, staying, among other places, for a year at the Cataract Hotel. |
38 | Ocean liner | 3,34 | Representative of Agatha Christie's travels. Several stories featured ocean liners. |
39 | Isokon Building | 8,42 | Agatha Christie lived here during World War 2 |
40 | University College Hospital | 41,42 | During World War 2, Christie served as a dispenser again, this time at University College Hospital. |
41 | Typewriter | 32,21 | Agatha Christie's typewriter is on display at Greenway. |
42 | Mousetrap | 43,11 | Celebrates her famous play The Mousetrap |
43 | Pale Horse Inn sign | 30,12 | Representative of The Pale Horse |
44 | Sarcophagus | 1,21 | A body was found in a sarcophagus in 4.50 from Paddington |
45 | Golden Palm | 6,22 | Representative of the Golden Palm Hotel in A Caribbean Mystery |
46 | Pearl necklace | 55,26 | Significant in A Murder is Announced |
47 | Chipping Cleghorn Gazette | 59,14 | In many stories newspapers play a significant role |
48 | Blackbird | 45,15 | Both this and #49 occur in A Pocket Full of Rye |
49 | Clothes peg | 19,10 | |
50 | Axe | 54,12 | This and #51 and #52 occur in And Then There Were None |
51 | Noose | 47,3 | |
52 | Gramophone | 2,2 | |
53 | Petra | 15,41 | Both this and #54 occur in Appointment with Death |
54 | Hypodemic needle | 65,27 | |
55 | Tennis Racquet | 45,8 | Both this and #56 occur in Cat Among the Pigeons |
56 | Jewels | 5,2 | |
57 | fete bunting | 66,17 | As seen in Dead Man's Folly |
58 | floppy hat | 7,11 | Has a plot role in Dead Man's Folly |
59 | Boat House | 25,28 | Has a plot role in Dead Man's Folly |
60 | Blowpipe | This, #61 and #62 occur in Death in the Clouds | |
61 | Aeroplane | ||
62 | Wasp |
| |
91 | Dictaphone | 9,22 | The Murder of Roger Ackroyd |
92 | Mid-size black dog | 21,7 | Could be a Manchester terrier like Bingo |
93 | Small brown and white terrier | 54,4 | Could be a wire fox terrier like Peter or Bob in Dumb Witness |
94 | Book: Sparkling Cyanide | 14,6 | Collins first edition cover |
95 | Book: The Hound of Death and Other Stories | 16,4 | Cover of first edition cover |
96 | Book: Mrs McGinty's Dead | 15,4 | Cover of first US edition |
97 | Book: Dead Man's Folly | 16,1 | Cover of first UK edition |
98 | Book: Death on the Nile | 19,1 | Cover of first UK edition |
99 | Torquay Pavilion | 64,37 | Archie Christie proposed to Agatha here. |
100 | Ashfield | 9,35 | Agatha Christie's childhood home. |
101 | Sarcophagus | Death Comes as the End
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