in that the character who appears in chapter three of Through the Looking-Glass is described as being dressed in white paper only. However John Tenniel's illustration (right) of the character in the book reminded many contemporary readers of Benjamin Disraeli, and there has been speculation as to whether this was a comment upon his constant presence in newspaper columns. William Empson in his 1935 book Some Versions of Pastoral referred to "Disraeli dressed in Newspapers". In The House of Lurking Death, Hannah quotes a series of religious and personal threats. Direct quotes from the Bible and their sources are: • From Psalm 18: " I will follow upon mine enemies and overtake them, neither will I turn again till I have destroyed them" • From the Gospel of John, John 3:8 " The wind bloweth where it listeth" • From Psalm 1: "The ungodly shall perish" • From Psalm 37: "But the wicked shall perish" "The fire of the Lord shall consume them" is not a direct quote but resembles numerous lines throughout the Bible. Tommy's final line to Tuppence at the end of The House of Lurking Death ("It is a great advantage to be intelligent and not to look it") is a quote from A. E. W. Mason's story At the Villa Rose. (In the Christie story, Tommy assumes the role of Mason's detective, M. Hanaud.) In The Ambassador's Boots, Tommy refers to a mention by Sherlock Holmes of a case not yet documented by Dr. Watson which hinged on the depth to which the parsley had sunk into butter on a hot day. This alludes to The Adventure of the Six Napoleons by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, first published in 1904. At the time that The Ambassador's Boots was written and first published, Conan Doyle was still writing Sherlock Holmes stories (the last was published in 1927) and therefore Tommy's wish that "Watson will disinter it from his notebook" was a real possibility at that time. The reference to Bee-keeping and Vegetable Marrow-growing in The Man Who Was No. 16 are humorous allusions to the retirement plans of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. References to actual history, geography and current science In A Fairy in the Flat, Tommy and Tuppence look at a blemish on a photograph, the shape of which resembles a fairy, and Tuppence suggests writing to Conan Doyle about it. This is a reference