{"id":941,"date":"2014-11-26T20:08:40","date_gmt":"2014-11-26T20:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/?p=941"},"modified":"2021-03-10T02:47:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T02:47:49","slug":"25-years-of-poirot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/?p=941","title":{"rendered":"25 Years of Poirot"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s amazing how quickly twenty-five years can pass by, especially when a good mystery is involved like Poirot. It\u2019s hard to believe the last episodes featuring David Suchet as \"Hercule-Poirot-Image<\/a>Hercule Poirot are complete and will air on PBS.<\/p>\n

The star has filmed 70 episodes based on the 33 novels and dozens of short stories featuring Agatha Christie\u2019s odd little detective. The first show premiered in 1989 with The Mysterious Affair at Styles<\/em> and is ending with Christie\u2019s final Poirot tale – Curtain<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Who Is Hercule Poirot<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christie drew inspiration for her detective from the Belgium refugees arriving after WW I, but she also admits that she\u00a0followed the format established by Arthur Conan Doyle for his Sherlock Holmes stories. Like Holmes, Poirot is\u00a0an eccentric and egotistical detective.<\/p>\n

Hastings was introduced as the \u201cWatson-like\u201d story telling assistant, who is constantly amazed and confounded by the detective\u2019s capabilities. And don\u2019t forget the Scotland Yard Inspector, Japp, who relies on Poirot to spot the important clues that have slipped by him.<\/p>\n

Christie may have initially followed the Doyle format; however, she developed\u00a0an intriguing detective\u00a0of her own. He had his own\u00a0distinctive personality and unique methods for solving crime. Poirot believed that \u201cthe truth had a habit of revealing itself\u201d and felt in his brain within \u201cthe little grey cells lies the soul of every mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reader soon discovers Poirot’s characteristics and habits make him standout from all the other detectives. This is how Arthur Hastings first describes Poirot in The Mysterious Affair at Styles<\/em>;<\/p>\n

\u2026an extraordinary-looking little man. He was hardly more than five feet four inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been said that the key to understanding Poirot\u2019s character is in his moustaches.\u00a0 He demonstrates a meticulous method for taking care of them and he applies this same meticulous method for solving crime.<\/p>\n

Christie\u2019s View of Poirot\u00a0 \"Agatha<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Christie once commented that she wished she had created a younger Poirot and then they could have grown old together. Instead, while his specific age is never mentioned, it is obvious that Poirot is older and clearly set in his ways.<\/p>\n

Christie was not a fan of her detective and\u00a0called her\u00a0him lots of names including bombastic, egocentric, detestable, tiresome and of course odd. However, regardless of her personal dislike, Christie felt that if her public enjoyed Poirot she would continue to feature him in her stories.<\/p>\n

The Last Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

The final Poirot book, Curtain,<\/em> was kept in a bank vault with the understanding that it would not be released until after Christie\u2019s death. \u00a0However, the decision was made to release the book in 1975. In this\u00a0story Poirot solves one last case before his death. Just prior to the publication of Curtain<\/em>, The New York Times printed a front page obituary in memory of Hercule Poirot.<\/p>\n

“Hercule Poirot Is Dead: Famed Belgian Detective <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective who became internationally famous, has died in England. His age was unknown. Mr. Poirot achieved fame as a private investigator after he retired as a member of the Belgian police force in 1904. His career, as chronicled in the novels of Dame Agatha Christie, was one of the most illustrious in fiction. <\/em><\/p>\n

At the end of his life, he was arthritic and had a bad heart. He was in a wheelchair often, and was carried from his bedroom to the public lounge at Styles Court, a nursing home in Essex, wearing a wig and false moustaches to mask the signs of age that offended his vanity. In his active days, he was always impeccably dressed. <\/em><\/p>\n

The news of his death, given by Dame Agatha, was not unexpected. Word that he was near death reached here last May. Dame Agatha reports in “Curtain” that he managed, in one final gesture, to perform one more act of cerebration that saved an innocent bystander from disaster. “Nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it,” to quote Shakespeare, whom Poirot frequently misquoted. ”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Poirot\u2019s Portrayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Suchet is a fine actor and was approved by the family to take on the role. And the critics seem to agree that he is the consummate Poirot. When the audience looks at Suchet they find the Poirot they imagine when they read the books and stories.<\/p>\n

Christie may have built a very specific personality for her odd little detective, but Suchet and the series have allowed subtle\u00a0enhancements to expand his defined characteristics. For instance over the seventy episodes they allowed Poirot to age. His moustaches are thinner and graying and\u00a0his walk has slowed with a noticeable stiffness. His gourmet diet and his fondness for Belgium chocolates have gradually added to his waistline.<\/p>\n

We may not find much emotion in the written word, but Suchet has added little touches of sentiment to his portrayal. Christie always gives Poirot his big moment on stage when he gathers all the suspects for the reveal. In Suchet’s performance we can actually see\u00a0the\u00a0anger and disgust he expresses\u00a0to the murderer for taking a life.<\/p>\n

We witness other emotions with Suchet\u2019s portrayal. There is decided twinkle in his eye when he puts one over on Hastings and a special smile in appreciation for Miss Lemon\u2019s office skills. But even deeper emotions occasionally seep in.\u00a0 We see the sadness of what might have been as Poirot says his farewell to the Countess Rossakoff in The<\/em> Double Clue<\/em> or the sincere pleasure in The Chocolate Box<\/em> episode\u00a0when Poirot discover one of his friend’s sons is named after him. And could that be a tear in Poirot\u2019s eye as he stands next to Ariadne Oliver and realizes the power of love at the end of The Third Girl<\/em> episode.<\/p>\n

However, while we have these\u00a0little additions to the character, make no mistake the series doesn\u2019t waiver on Poirot basics. For example, even though they are completely out of fashion Poirot continues to wear spats and uses pince-nez for his reading glasses.\u00a0 And of course\u00a0throughout the series the \u2018greatest detective\u2019 continues to rely on his little gray cells to solve the crime.<\/p>\n

Good News–There’s More to Come<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before we all go into Poirot withdrawal there is hope. The family has authorized a \"New<\/a>new Poirot book called The Monogram Murders<\/em> written by Sophie Hannah. So there is yet another story for all of\u00a0us devoted Poirot fans to read. And who knows perhaps another show to be filmed.<\/p>\n

But for now Goodbye Poirot\u2014thank you David Suchet\u2014and of course thank you Agatha Christie.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s amazing how quickly twenty-five years can pass by, especially when a good mystery is involved like Poirot. It\u2019s hard to believe the last episodes featuring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot are complete and will air on PBS. The star … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=941"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":961,"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941\/revisions\/961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darkandstormynightmysteries.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}