Dew's Agatha Christie Mystery Site

Dame Agatha Christie quoted several famous writers and poets in her works; in fact, several of them serve as the inspiration for her book titles. Here are a list of some of them:


"The Mirror Crack'd"

Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shallot.

--a line from "The Lady Of Shallot" by Alfred Lord Tennyson






"By the Pricking of My Thumbs"

By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes

--line from Shakespeare's play "Macbeth"






"There is a Tide"

The is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune."

--line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar






"Sleeping Murder"

Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle: she died young.

--from Webster's play, "The Dutchess of Malfi"






"The Pale Horse"

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him...

--from the Bible (Rev. 6:8)