History Literature / HerculePoirot

The star of thirty-three books and fifty-six short stories by Creator/AgathaChristie, Hercule Poirot is one of the most famous fictional detectives in the world. Rightly so, he would say, being also one of the most conceited. His [[LongRunners curiously elongated career]] lasted from 1916 to 1975, although he was at retirement age when it began. This would make him at least 110 when it ended.

* MarketBasedTitle: Several of the novels had their titles changed for their US editions, for cultural reasons (US readers wouldn't know what a mews was, so the collection ''Murder in the Mews'' was titled ''Dead Man's Mirror'' after a different story in the collection), or to avoid consumer confusion (''Murder on the Orient Express'' was changed to ''Murder in the Calais Coach'' because a mystery novel by the title of ''Orient Express'' had come out in the US that same year). The editions currently in print have restored the original British titles.

* ClearTheirName: ''Mrs. [=McGinty=]'s Dead'' involves clearing the name of a man accused of murdering the titular victim before he's executed.

Fastidiously neat, we'd today diagnose him with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive–compulsive_personality_disorder OCPD]]

* ''Taken at the Flood'' (1948)

Fastidiously neat, we'd today diagnose him with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive–compulsive_personality_disorder OCPD.]]

* ''After the Funeral'' (1953)

* GenteelInterbellumSetting: Poirot leaves the time of his death up to ''le bon Dieu''.

* SocietyMarchesOn: In "The Capture Of Cerberus", what draws Poirot's attention to the villain is that [[spoiler: she wears unflattering clothes, in particular, a skirt with ''pockets''. To Poirot, this is unimaginable, because surely no woman would ever care so little about her own appearance as to wear pockets]]. Nowadays, it'd be hard to find anyone who'd agree.

* BusmansHoliday: Multiple times, sometimes lampshaded. For instance, ''Murder on the Orient Express'', when he finds himself involved in a murder mystery while traveling home from solving another.

* LateArrivalSpoiler: Christie's novels occasionally revealed the solutions of previous works, a habit which vexed her publishers. For instance, in ''Literature/CardsOnTheTable'', Poirot makes a reference to the solution to ''Murder on the Orient Express''. The reference is very subtle, but enough to spoil it for someone who has not yet read that novel. Even worse, in ''Dumb Witness'', Poirot casually mentions the names of the guilty parties from ''four'' previous novels in a single sentence.

[[folder:Tropes featured in this series]]

* AlwaysMurder: Most of the stories with ocasionally aversions. Lampshaded in Dead Man's Mirror:

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Subverted, since of course there is no one better than Hercule Poirot. Not even his brother Achille. [[spoiler:Who doesn't exist.]]

Many different actors have played Poirot on screen. Creator/PeterUstinov played him five times in the 1970s and 1980s, Creator/AlbertFinney was nominated for an Oscar for playing him in 1974, but nowadays the definitive portrayal is believed to be Creator/DavidSuchet's ''Series/{{Poirot}}'' (amusingly, he first played Inspector Japp in the 1985 adaptation of ''Literature/LordEdgwareDies''). Creator/KennethBranagh introduced his own interpretation [[Film/MurderOnTheOrientExpress2017 in 2017]] and intends to continue his own cinematic run as the Belgian.

Many different actors have played Poirot on screen. Creator/PeterUstinov played him on several occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, Creator/AlbertFinney was nominated for an Oscar for playing him in 1974, but nowadays the definitive portrayal is believed to be Creator/DavidSuchet's ''Series/{{Poirot}}'' (though ironically, he first played Inspector Japp in the 1985 adaptation of ''Literature/LordEdgwareDies'' before taking the role of Poirot). Creator/KennethBranagh introduced his own interpretation [[Film/MurderOnTheOrientExpress2017 in 2017]] and intends to continue his own cinematic run as the Belgian.

Many different actors have played Poirot on screen. Peter Ustinov gained some fame for his many appearances as the character in the 1970s and 1980s, Creator/AlbertFinney was nominated for an Oscar for playing him in 1974, but nowadays the definitive portrayal is believed to be Creator/DavidSuchet's ''Series/{{Poirot}}'' (though ironically, he first played Inspector Japp in the 1985 adaptation of ''Literature/LordEdgwareDies'' before taking the role of Poirot). Creator/KennethBranagh introduced his own interpretation [[Film/MurderOnTheOrientExpress2017 in 2017]] and intends to start his own cinematic run as the Belgian.

* DemotedToExtra: As Christie's dislike towards Poirot increases, his importance in the cases his solve begin to diminish as well. Many of Poirot's later novels actually feature very little of the Belgian detective, where he would have minimal involvement in the plot and only serves to InfoDump the solution of the mystery during the denouement. Some examples include ''Cat Among the Pigeons'', where Poirot only show up in the last third of the books, and ''The Clocks'', where he barely exists outside the reveal.

* CreatorBacklash:
** As the quote at the top of this article suggests, Agatha Christie much preferred her other character, Literature/MissMarple.
** In-universe in ''Literature/MrsMcGintysDead'', [[AuthorAvatar Adriane Oliver]] delivers nearly the same quote when talking about her own character, a {{F|unnyForeigner}}innish detective with a bizarre quirk (he grates his vegetables before eating them).

* CluelessMystery: All too often, Christie keeps the key clue to the story hidden from the reader until the summation comes. Sometimes it's possible to solve it, but not very often.
** Arguably not, as Christie's books tend to mention the key clues without giving any importance to them until the summation. For example, the key to the solution of ''The Clocks'' is a single five-word phrase said as part of a conversation early in the book, not brought up again until Poirot mentions it in the summation.