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Clever Titles

hobbit 21 Feb 09 at 1:32 p.m. GMT

I recently re-read major pallgrave's thread discussing 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?' and was reminded of the point that had arisen about the importance of good, capturing titles which say something about the work. I was wondering what other people's views were on this.

'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?' has to be one fo my favourite titles (though I found the book itself rather unexciting) because it, for me, completely captures the sense of mystery of the novel and the context in which it is said, for those who have read the book, is extremely grim and intriguing.

I also like 'The Moving Finger' (a quote from a poem I believe) as I found the multiple ways it applies to the book (different villagers pointing the finger of accusation at each other, the single finger used to type the letters, the symbolic 'moving finger' of the poison-pen writer etc.) rather clever.

What are your favourite titles? (please try and give reasons, if possible!)

Hobbit

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43 replies

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Tommy_A_Jones 21 Feb 09 at 3:22 p.m. GMT

I also like the Title 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans' as it asks a question, I also like 'The Secret of Chimneys', and 'The Secret Advocate' as all these Titles have a Definite artical, as these suggest something exciting is going to happen conserning the Definite artical, I also like Titles with Numbers and letters 'Five Little Pigs, The ABC Mystery and I like Titles with Numbers and Letters like Five Little Pigs and ABC Murders because I like Numbers and Letters, I also like Titles with Place names just because I wonder if anyone reads the books in those places, I saw a Michael Palin programme and he was going up the Nile and he was holding a Copy of 'Death On The Nile' which made me chortle.

mirror 23 Feb 09 at 12:07 a.m. GMT

"The Moving Finger" is also one of my favorite titles because it makes readers feel that somethimg is going to happen in the book and therefore inspires them to read it , which is very clever way to capture readers' interest . Similarly , "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" is a good one. Regarding hobbit's second point , in my opinion, the title, "The Moving Finger" has another suggestion in addition to what hobbit points out.It is also associated with Miss Marple moving her finger to knit something as her secret side job while observing people to investigate a murder.

susandiane 23 Feb 09 at 12:17 p.m. GMT

I like the title "why didn't they ask evans?" because it's a line in an earlier book. it's just so evocative. "the man in the brown suit" sounds like a throwback and that's neat. "the moving finger", "there is a tide" and "nemesis" are good and creepy (i didn't like "tide" though). "curtain" is another good one, you just KNOW what's coming but you don't know HOW you're going to get there.

hobbit 28 Feb 09 at 12:26 p.m. GMT

That's another good point, mirror, I hadn't thought of that.

hobbit 28 Feb 09 at 12:28 p.m. GMT

In case anyone is interested the quote from the poem (the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam) goes as follows:

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,

Moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,

Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.

It's interesting that a lot of the Miss Marple titles have a literary or double meaning. 'The Mirror Crack'd' is an obvious Tennison reference, and has an interesting significance in the novel. Similarly 'A Pocketful of Rye' has the creepy nursery-rhyme theme and 'Sleeping Murder' refers to the Old English proverb 'let sleeping murder lie' - an interesting moral question in the book (would it have been better to let the past stay hidden).

I always think the best books AC wrote are the ones which have several interlocking themes/questions which tie up at the end into a powerful knot - as opposed to the 'straight' detective novels.

Hobbit

squatty 01 Mar 09 at 11:20 a.m. GMT

I think a title has to be arresting enough to make us take it from the bookshelf and buy it. However, once I've started reading the book, I tend to forget the title.

I do get a bit irritated by those nursery rhyme titles and the contrived way that AC sometimes tries to force them into the plot. I love Five Little Pigs but trying to link the five suspects with the five pigs from the rhyme is embarrassingly done

Tommy_A_Jones 01 Mar 09 at 1:10 p.m. GMT

Squatty I agree with you, It is a long time since I have read 'One Two Buckle My Show' but I thought the way AC put the rhyme in the book was contrived, It is the blurb on the back that incourages me to buy a book, It might be the Title that makes me take it of the shelf but if I don't like the blurb on the back I but the book back on the shelf.

dale_cooper 02 Mar 09 at 4:27 p.m. GMT

Interesting question. I hadn't thought, by I suppose the Marple novels do all have quite thematic titles. I'd be interested to know what 'They Do it With Mirrors' refers to (I haven't read the book myself).

To add some different ideas to the mix...

Murder Is Easy - sort of has moral resonance, I think. A perfect title for the book that follows.

Sparkling Cyanide - it's alliterative and sounds vey nice. Very creepy title for what I thought was quite a creepy book.

By the Pricking of My Thumbs - love Macbeth so it's an obvious choice for me. Hobbit, you mentioned on a previous thread (discussing the novel) that you didn't see the relevance of the title to the book. I sort of agree with you. There is, like you said, a connection between the demise of the murderer and that of Lady Macbeth, but it's only a slight similarity.

All great titles from Agatha though.  

Miss_Terrie 05 Mar 09 at 5:02 p.m. GMT

Anyone else thnik that 'Ordeal by Innocence' is a really grate title as well?

Tommy_A_Jones 26 Mar 09 at 3:27 p.m. GMT

This reply contains spoiler information. Show reply

Does anyone agree with me that the Title 'Dead Man's Folly' is a silly Title as the Victim's are women and the Title suggests that a Man dies, I also think that 'Appointment With Death' which I am reading is a great title as it gives an idea what it is a bout like 'Ordeal by Innocence and 'Mrs McGinty's Dead' 

squatty 26 Mar 09 at 6:39 p.m. GMT

Winnebago, I do see the relevance of the title.

The folly was built by a man who had been presumed dead. I actually think the title is one of the biggest clues of this book

lava 27 Mar 09 at 4:19 a.m. GMT

my fav titles are sad cypress, pocket full of rye and the moving finger

Tommy_A_Jones 27 Mar 09 at 3:49 p.m. GMT

Thankyou for reminding me squatty, I had forgotten all abiout that, I loved the book but loved the way in the Ustinov Adaptation Hastings appears with Ariadne Oliver after all she meets Battle and Race in the books so she mightn't as well have met him.

sapphire_arisa 28 Mar 09 at 5:54 a.m. GMT

My favourite titles are 'Five Little Pigs', "Sad Cypress', and 'why didnt they ask evans?'. Agatha uses nursery rhymes really well in her novels, and I love it.

lava 29 Mar 09 at 4:06 a.m. GMT

my fav title is sad cypress.

hellofansofachi 29 Mar 09 at 6:49 a.m. GMT

My fave titles are Five Little Pigs and And Then Then There Were None.

na_well 10 Jul 09 at 8:39 p.m. GMT

I like the titles which come from a nursery rhyme or literary quote. For example Five Little Pigs, Endless Night or The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side. Well they are a lot but I like the ones that are taken from a nursery rhyme or literary quote as I already said.

Tommy_A_Jones 11 Jul 09 at 11:20 a.m. GMT

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I know it is a bit late to ask but what are thematic Titles? I think I know but just want to see if I am right are they Titles that explain what the book is about like Body In The Library being about a body found in a persoin's library? If I am right I also want to know what 'They Do it With Mirroers refers to although I think it refers to slight of hand and fooling people that what they see or in this case hear isn't quite what they think. And The Titles 'The Mirror Crack'd and The Moving Finger are departures from the other Miss Marple Titles as Neither title explain what the books are about.

go_leafs_nation 13 Jul 09 at 3:14 p.m. GMT

Personally, I am fond of titles that quote or make references to other work. "The Moving Finger", a reference to the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, is one of my favourites, not only because of the reference, but because of its relevance to the story, as the poison-pen letter writer shifts the finger of accusation from one person to another.

Another one of my favourites is "By the Pricking of My Thumbs". Macbeth happens to be my second-favourite Shakespeare play (right after Othello), and seeing that quote from Act IV immediately gave me an idea of the kind of atmosphere to expect from the book. I was not disappointed.

One more title I love is "Hallowe'en Party". It just sounds so childish-- what on Earth would Poirot have in common with something like this? And yet, as children have fun and play games, someone meets their death. It's intriguing.

Titles that have incomplete information often intrigue me. "The Clocks" is a good example, and so is "The Pale Horse". "What clocks? What about them? Why are they important? Why is the horse pale, and why is it important?" Those questions came into mind when seeing the titles by themselves.

Some titles, however, I'm not too fond of. Most of these are American retitlings of the British version ("The Patriotic Murders" is a particularly bad one, I find). However, of the ones AC came up with herself, "Death Comes as the End" must be one of my least favourites. "Of course it does!" I muttered to myself when reading the title, which may be the reason I put off reading it.

Tommy_A_Jones 14 Jul 09 at 12:02 p.m. GMT

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I think 'The Clocks' is a great Title and a great example of the use of a Macguffin as the clocks in the title were a wonderfully misleading part of the story