84 pages 2 hours read

Agatha Christie

Crooked House

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1949

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Answer Key

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. Grandfather (Chapter 1)

2. Father (Chapter 3)

3. Edith de Haviland (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Sophia suspects that her grandfather was murdered, and because of Charles’s career and family connections to the government, she is afraid that the scandal will negatively impact Charles if they marry. (Chapter 2)

2. Arthur explains that in building his businesses, Aristide found many ways to circumvent the law but stopped short of actually breaking the law. He maintains that Aristide was “crooked…but not a crook” (13). (Chapter 3)

3. Three Gables, where the Leonides family lives, is “crooked” in the literal sense because its appearance is strangely distorted. In the figurative sense, it is the home of a man whose business dealings were “crooked” and houses a family full of shady characters. (Chapter 4)

Chapters 6-11

Reading Check

1. Actress (Chapter 6)

2. Polio (Chapter 8)

3. Aristide’s will (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. Roger is emotional and seems flustered, while Clemency remains cool and collected. (Chapter 7)

2. Sophia claims that Brenda is a skilled manipulator and that Charles is being gullible.