| Hercule Poirot |
Article Index for Hercule |
Articles about Hercule Poirot |
Information AboutHercule Poirot |
|
Hercule Poirot (pronounced ) is a Fictional Character , the primary detective of Agatha Christie 's novels. Poirot is remarkable for his small stature and egg-shaped head, his cat-like green eyes, his meticulous moustache and his dandified dressing habits. He appears in over 30 novels and over 50 short stories and is one of her most famous characters. Critics have claimed that Poirot was based on two other fictional detectives of the time. Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieure Poiret, a retired French police oficer living in London. Like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha became tired of her creation. By 1930 she found Poirot "insufferable", and by 1960 she felt that he was a "Detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep." Yet the public loved him and Agatha refused to kill him off as she saw it has her duty to produce what the public liked, and what the public liked was Poirot. Despite the hatred of his creator, Poirot is loved by millions of fans and has become, along with Sherlock Holmes , a detective Archetype. Other quirky but brilliant little fictional detectives with outrageous character traits, like Colombo and Monk all owe a nod to Hercule Poirot who was the only fictional detective to be given an obituary in the New York Times. HERCULE POIROT'S LIFE Childhood years The character was born in Spa, Belgium . A few fans have noted that in the ''Labors of Hercules'', it was mentioned that Poirots mother came up with his name while talking to Sherlock Holmes’s mother, suggesting Poirot inhabits a League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen like universe. However it is not known whether this discussion between the detectives respective mothers actually happened or if it was just a joke. There is no other mention of Holmes or any other literary characters in any of the Poirot novels so it’s best that this oblique reference be ignored and any cross overs be regarded as fan fiction. Not much is know of Poirot’s childhood other than he once claimed in ''Three Act Tragedy'' to have been from a large family with little wealth. In ''Taken at the Flood'', he then claimed to have been raised and educated by Nuns, suggesting he and his siblings where orphaned. Part of the problem comes from the fact that Poirot appears to be a compulsive liar who makes up imaginary family members whenever it suits him. In ''The murder of Rodger Ackroyd'', he creates a retarded nephew as an excuse to investigate the local mental homes. In ''Dumb Witness'', he regales us will stories of his elderly invalid mother as a pretence to investigate the local nurses. His biggest creation, however, was his twin brother Achille Poirot who was actually Poirot in disguise (first mentioned in ''The Big Four''). He also mentioned a sister called Yvonne in ''The Chocolate Box'', who was never mentioned again. Poirot’s police years As an adult, Poirot joined the Belgian police force and apparently had a distinguished Career. Again there is no real information that can be considered canon on this period of Poirot’s life. We do know that he had his only real failure while in the police force as told in ''The Chocolate Box''. Poirot did say, in the same novel, that he has had other failures but they were caused by events beyond his control such as ill health forcing him to drop a case or another policeman solving the case before him and he believes (rightly or wrongly) that these don’t count. It was also in this period that Poirot killed his first man who was on a rooftop and shooting the public below. Not much is know about this event or its aftermath other than that Poirot killed the man right there and then in order to save lives and was never sure afterwards whether or not what he did was right. It was also during his police days that he first met Chief Inspector James Japp. In ''The Mysterious affair at Styles'' he mentions that they first met in 1904 during the Abercrombie Forgery and later that year joined forces again to hunt down a criminal known as Baron Altara. Unfortunately we hear nothing more about these events. Poirot finally retired in 1914 but events conspired against him and he was forced to face the wrath of the invading German army. Career as a private detective During the first world war, Poirot was forced to flee Belgium for Britain. It hurt Poirot badly to have been driven from his home and forced to live as a refugee. However it was here that he met his lifelong friend, Captain Arthur Hastings and began his new life after solving ''The Mysterious affair at Styles''. After that case Poirot apparently came to the attention of both M16 and M15 and did undertake cases for the British government. Its presumably at this time of his life that he foils a German attempt to abduct the Prime Minister in the short story ''The Kidnapped Prime Minister.'' After the war Poirot became a free agent and began undertaking civilian cases. He moved into what became both his home and work address, 56B Whitehaven Mansions, Sandhurst Square, London W1. (The building used in the series can be found on Charterhouse Square - City of London.) It was chosen by Poirot for its symmetry. His first case was ''The Affair at the Victory Ball'', which saw Poirot enter the high society and begin his illustrious career. Between the first and second world wars, Poirot traveled all over Europe and the Middle East investigating crimes and murders. The main bulk of his cases happened during this period. ''The Murder On the Links'' saw the Belgian pit his grey cells against a French murderer. In the Middle East he solved ''The Murder on the Orient Express'', the ''Death on the Nile'' and the ''Murder in Mesopotamia'' with ease and even survived ''An Appointment with Death.'' However he did not travel to the Americas or Australia, probably due to his sea sickness. It was during this time he met the Countess Vera Rossakoff, a glamorous jewel thief. Poirot later became smitten with the woman and allowed her to escape justice. He then returned to mainland Europe to solve the ''Mystery of the Blue Train'' and faced ''Death in the Clouds.'' Poirot was then to face the biggest threat of his life, a gang called ''The Big Four'' who were bent on world domination. It was during this ongoing battle that he again encountered Vera Rossakoff. She had made a deal with Poirot’s unholy enemy. However, Poirot was able to convince the countess to betray her dark masters, in exchange for her long lost son who Poirot had found. With her help, Poirot overcame the Big Four and achieved international fame. After this he did contemplate marriage to the Countess, but finally let Rossakoff go. Poirot was never to see her again for twenty years and was sadly, never to marry. Retirement After the case of The Big Four ended Poirot decides to retire. He retires at least five times but is to much of a workaholic to give up his work. He retired from the police force but is drawn into private investigation. He retires and moves to the county to grow water melons but then ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' takes place right on his door step. He then retires but is drawn back into the detective business when he hears that ''Mrs. McGinty's Dead.'' He becomes a book reviewer but became involved in another crime when he heard about ''The Clocks.'' In the ''Labor of Hercules'' he agrees to take on 12 more cases before retirement, but the retirement never happens. Post war world After the war, as he got older, he apparently became more of an armchair detective and traveled less and less. His absolute obsession with order and neatness, his disdain for detective methods that include crawling on hands and knees and looking for clues and his egomania also grew to outrageous levels. He once even bet his friend and Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Japp, that he could solve a case simply by sitting in an easy chair and using his "little grey cells." He also became increasing amused and baffled by the vulgarism of the up and coming generations young people. In ''Hickory Dickory Dock'', Poirot investigates the strange goings on in a student hostel. And when he met the ''Third Girl'', Poirot was forced to face facts and admit that he was getting older and no longer understood the new modern youngsters and the growing drug and pop culture. Death Towards the end of his life Poirot began suffering from Heart problems and Arthritis . He then came across a man called Norton who had perfected a means of getting other people to kill for him, the greatest murder method yet devised. Poirot, his health failing and knowing that the only way to stop Norton was to kill him as he could never be brought to justice legally, pursued Norton to Styles where he and his old friend Arthur Hastings hunted down this one last murderer together before Poirot died peacefully in his sleep on the 6th of August 1975. MAJOR NOVELS The Poirot books take readers through the whole of his life in England, from the first book ('' The Mysterious Affair At Styles ''), where he is a refugee staying at Styles, to the last Poirot book ('' Curtain ''), where he visits Styles once again before his death. In between, Poirot solves cases outside England as well, including his most famous case, '' Murder On The Orient Express '' (1934). Hercule Poirot became famous with the publication, in alludes to it in the title of his well-known attack on detective fiction, "Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?" Aside from ''Roger Ackroyd'', the most critically-acclaimed Poirot novels appeared from 1932 to 1942 , including such acknowledged classics as ''Murder on the Orient Express'', '' The ABC Murders '' (1935), '' Cards On The Table '' (1936), and '' Death On The Nile '' (1937). The last of these, a tale of multiple homicide upon a Nile steamer, was judged by the celebrated detective novelist John Dickson Carr to be among the ten greatest mystery novels of all time. The 1942 novel '' Five Little Pigs '' (aka ''Murder in Retrospect''), in which Poirot investigates a murder committed sixteen years before by analyzing various accounts of the tragedy, is a '' Rashomon ''-like performance that critic and mystery novelist Robert Barnard called the best of the Christie novels. RECURRING CHARACTERS While the majority of the supporting cast in the Poirot stories is always different, some characters do show up more often. Arthur Hastings , whom Poirot met almost immediately after arriving in England, becomes his life-long partner and appears in many of the novels and stories. Poirot’s view of Hastings was of a man with plenty of imagination but not a great deal of brains. The two were a team until Hastings met Dulcie Duveen, a beautiful acrobat half his age, which was not as objectionable in the late Victorian, Edwardian world. They later marry and emigrate to Argentina leaving behind a "very unhappy old man." series from left to right: Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp , David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, Hugh Fraser as Captain Arthur Hastings and Pauline Moran as Miss Felicity Lemon.]] Other frequently recurring characters include the detective novelist Ariadne Oliver , Agatha Christie's humorous self-caricature. We never learn about her husband. We just know that she hates alcohol and public appearances and has a great fondness for apples until she is put off them by the events of the Hallowe’en party. She has a great dislike of people taking and modifying her story characters and first met Poirot when they put their Cards on the Table and has been bothering him ever since. Poirot's secretary, Miss Lemon has few human weaknesses and the only mistake she is ever recorded making is a typing error during the events of Hickory Dickory Dock. She is an expert on nearly everything and plans to create the perfect filing system. Interestingly enough is the fact that she once worked for the government agent turned philanthropist, Parker Pyne . Whether this was during one of Poirot’s numerous retirements or before she entered his employ is unknown. Chief Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard appears in many of the stories, as well. Japp is a outward going, loud and sometimes inconsiderate man by nature and his relationship with the bourgeois Belgian is one of the stranger aspects of Poirot’s world. He first met the Poirot in Belgium, 1904, during the Abercrombie Forgery and later that year joined forces again to hunt down a criminal known as Baron Altara. They have also meet in England where Poirot often helps Japp solve a case and lets him take the credit in return for favours. All gentlemen have butlers and not to be outdone Poirot hired the most incurable snob he could find. George (we are never told his surname) is a classic English valet and first entered Poirot’s employ in 1923 and didn’t leave his side until the 1970’s, shortly before Poirot’s death. A competent, matter of fact man, with an extensive knowledge of the English aristocracy and absolutely no imagination, George provides a steady contrast to Hastings. CONFUSION There is an ongoing controversy over Poirot's age. Taken at face value it appears that Poirot was over 125 years old when he died. This is due mostly to confusion over what is canonical and what is not. Although the majority of the Hercule Poirot novels are set between the wars, the latter novels set them in the 1960s (which is contemporary with the time Agatha Christie was writing). However, the many TV and movie adaptations do not show this. Many people believe that Poirot retired from Police work at around 50, but this is untrue, because as shown in the short story ''The Chocolate Box'', he retired at around 30. This can explain why Poirot is around for so long. Also the debate over Poirot’s family is fueled mainly by the fact that he mentions a sister in the original publication of The Chocolate Box but for some reason this reference was removed from the later editions. BOOKS FEATURING HERCULE POIROT The Books in pubication order '' Short Story collections listed as "ss"''
The Books in chronological order Poirot's police years as Hercule Poirot in The Dream ]]
Career as a private detective and retirement Shortly after Poirot flees to England (1917-1918)
The twenties (1920-1929) Poirot settles down in London and opens a private detective agency. These are the short story years (27 stories and only 4 novels).
The Thirties (1930-1939) These are the novel years (14 novels,12 short stories and one theatre play). The 12 short stories form ''The Labours of Hercules'', the other short stories listed here take place in this period but were published before/after. The theatre play is named ''Black Coffe'' and was writed by Agatha Christie because she didn't like the plays made after her Hercule Poirot mysteries. Later (more that twenty years after the author's death) a novel was writen after the play.
Post War World A new detective enters the stage - Miss Marple - and Hercule Poirot mysteries become rare. In 36 years Agatha Christie only wrote 13 novels and one short story.
Death
HERCULE POIROT ON SCREEN AND STAGE as Poirot]] ''For more information about the ongoing UK television series starring David Suchet , see Agatha Christie's Poirot .'' Hercule Poirot has been played by several actors. The character first appeared onscreen in and by Tony Randall , Ian Holm , and Alfred Molina . Christie, who visited the set of '' Murder On The Orient Express '', approved of Finney's portrayal of her character. Others were less sanguine about Ustinov's portrayal, given that Poirot, written as short, slim, and with coal-black hair, bore little resemblance to the tall, heavy, grey-haired Ustinov. When one of Christie's relatives observed to Ustinov that Poirot did not look like him, Ustinov quipped that "He does now!" In 2004, , 2004 through May 15 , 2005 , and is now being shown as Rerun s on NHK and other networks in Japan. Poirot was voiced by Kōtarō Satomi (Satomi Kōtarō) and Miss Marple was voiced by Kaoru Yachigusa (Yachigusa Kaoru). Theatrical films featuring Hercule Poirot ''For more films based on Agatha Christie books, see the .''
|