Hercule Poirot in literature

This page details the books featuring the fictional character Hercule Poirot.

Hercule Poirot and Fictional Canon

The sets of rules involving "official" details of the "lives" and "works" of fictional characters vary from one fictional universe to the next according to the canon established by critics and/or enthusiasts. Some fans of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot have proposed that the novels are set on the date they were published, unless the novel itself gives a different date. It has further been proposed that only works written by her (including short stories, the novels and her play Black Coffee) are to be considered canon by most fans and biographers. This would render everything else (plays, movies, television adaptations, etc.) as an adaptation, or secondary material. A contradiction between the novels can be resolved, in most cases, by going with the novel that was published first.

An example of this would be the ongoing controversy over Poirot's age. Taken at face value it appears that Poirot was over 125 years old when he died. Though the majority of the Hercule Poirot novels are set between World War I and World War II, the later novels then set him in the 1960s (which is contemporary with the time Agatha Christie was writing even though it created minor discrepancies). Many people believe, from her later works, 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. By accepting the date given in "The Chocolate Box" over later novels, which never gave precise ages anyway, it can be explained why Poirot is around for so long.

Also the debate over Poirot’s family is fuelled 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.

Poirot is still under copyright (with the exception of the first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in the USA). Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard, now owns the royalties to his grandmother's works.

Publication order

Short story collections listed as "ss"

1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
2. The Murder on the Links (1923)
3. "Poirot Investigates" (1924, ss)
4. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
5. The Big Four (1927)
6. The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
7. Black Coffee (1930 play - novel adapted from play published in 1998)
8. Peril at End House (1932)
9. Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
10. Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
11. Three Act Tragedy (1935)
12. Death in the Clouds (1935)
13. The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
14. Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
15. Cards on the Table (1936)
16. Dumb Witness (1937)
17. Death on the Nile (1937)
18. "Murder in the Mews" (1937, ss)
19. Appointment with Death (1938)
20. Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
21. Sad Cypress (1940)
22. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (1940)
23. Evil Under the Sun (1941)
24. Five Little Pigs (1942)
25. The Hollow (1946)
26. "The Labours of Hercules" (1947, ss)
27. Taken at the Flood (1948)
28. Mrs McGinty's Dead (1952)
29. After the Funeral (1953)
30. Hickory Dickory Dock (1955)
31. Dead Man's Folly (1956)
32. Cat Among the Pigeons (1959)
33. "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" (1960, ss)
34. The Clocks (1963)
35. Third Girl (1966)
36. Hallowe'en Party (1969)
37. Elephants Can Remember (1972)
38. Poirot's Early Cases (1974, ss)
39. Curtain (written about 1940, published 1975)
40. "Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories" (1991, ss)
41. "While the Light Lasts and Other Stories" (1997, ss)

Books in chronological order

Poirot's police years

• "The Chocolate Box" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)

Career as a private detective and retirement

Shortly after Poirot flees to England (1916-1918)

• The Mysterious Affair at Styles
• "The Kidnapped Prime Minister" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The LeMesurier Inheritance" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Affair at the Victory Ball" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)

The Twenties (1920-1929)

Poirot settles down in London and opens a private detective agency. These are the short story years (25 short stories and only 4 novels).

• "The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The Plymouth Express" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Adventure of the Cheap Flat" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The Submarine Plans" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Cornish Mystery" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The Mystery of the Hunters Lodge" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The Market Basing Mystery" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The King of Clubs" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The Double Clue" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Adventure of Johnny Waverly" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Case of the Missing Will" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The Lost Mine" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Million Dollar Bond Robbery" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• "The Veiled Lady" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Adventure of the Western Star" (short story from Poirot Investigates)
• Murder on the Links
• "Double Sin" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" also published as The Theft Of The Royal Ruby (short story from The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding)
• The Big Four
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
• The Mystery of the Blue Train
• "The Third Floor Flat" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)
• "The Under Dog" (short story from The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding)
• "Wasp's Nest" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases)

The Thirties (1930-1939)

These was a sharp increase in the number of novels written during this time (14 novels, 21 total short stories and one theatre play). 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 Coffee and was written by Agatha Christie, who stated a frustration with other stage adaptations of her Poirot mysteries. In 1998, author Charles Osborne adapted the play into a novel.

• "Dead Man's Mirror" (short story from Murder in the Mews also published as The Second Gong in Problem at Pollensa Bay)
• "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest" also published as The Mystery of the Bagdad Chest (short story from The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and The Regatta Mystery)
• Peril at End House
• Lord Edgware Dies, also published as Thirteen at Dinner
• Black Coffee
• Murder in Mesopotamia
• Murder on the Orient Express also published as Murder in the Calais Coach
• Three Act Tragedy
• Death in the Clouds
• "How Does Your Garden Grow?" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases and The Regatta Mystery)
• The A.B.C. Murders also published as Alphabet murders
• Poirot Loses a Client also published as Dumb Witness
• "Problem at Sea" (short story from Poirot's Early Cases and The Regatta Mystery)
• "Triangle at Rhodes" (short story from Murder in the Mews)
• "The Incredible Theft" (short story from Murder in the Mews)
• "Murder in the Mews" (short story from Murder in the Mews)
• Cards on the Table
• Death on the Nile
• Appointment with Death
• Murder for Christmas also published as Hercule Poirot's Christmas and Holiday for Murder
• "Yellow Iris" (short story from The Regatta Mystery)
• "The Dream" (short story from The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and The Regatta Mystery)
• Patriotic Murders also published as One, Two, Buckle My Shoe and Overdose of Death
• Sad Cypress
• "The Nemean Lion" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Lernaean Hydra" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Arcadian Deer" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Erymanthian Boar" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Augean Stables" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Stymphalean Birds" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Cretan Bull" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Horses of Diomedes" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Girdle of Hyppolita" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Flock of Geryon" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Apples of Hesperides" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)
• "The Capture of Cerberus" (short story from The Labours of Hercules)

Post World War II

A new detective, Miss Marple, enters the stage and Hercule Poirot mysteries become rare. In 36 years Agatha Christie wrote only 13 novels and one short story.

• Evil Under the Sun
• "Four and Twenty Blackbirds" (short story from The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding)
• Murder in Retrospect also published as Five Little Pigs
• Murder after hours also published as The Hollow
• Taken at the Flood also published as There Is a Tide
• Mrs McGinty's Dead also published as Blood Will Tell
• After the Funeral also published as Funerals are Fatal
• Hickory Dickory Dock also published as Hickory Dickory death
• Dead Man's Folly
• Cat Among the Pigeons
• The Clocks
• Third Girl
• Hallowe'en Party
• Elephants Can Remember

Posthumous

• Curtain, Hercule Poirot's last case (published in 1975)
• The Incident At The Dog's Ball, newly-discovered pre-1937 Hercule Poirot story (published in 2010 as Dumb Witness)