Hercule Poirot, the little Belgian with an egg-shaped head. The greatest detective there ever was, using only his little grey cells. According to Poirot that is.
I can’t really remember exactly when I started reading Agathe Christie novels. I only know that I enjoyed them thoroughly and fell in love with not one but two of her detectives – Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.
I rarely re-read novels that I’ve read before. I have at times re-read some of Stephen King’s short story collections, but other than that, no. However, with Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot’s novels, I have. Read, re-read and re-re-read them again and again.
And you know, strangely enough it isn’t the actual mystery itself that enamours me. Its what I see when I read the book…the description of the era these stories were written in. Just after World War I. The large homes, the life of the country squire and his family, the life of living in a little English village called St. Mary’s Mead.
It’s the life of the maids in these homes. It’s the life of the villagers. It’s the life of the working girl in living in London. It’s the life of the “home managers”. It’s those things that seem to captivate me.
It’s a strange thing, but there you go. Not the great mysteries, but the characters’ lives that I’m interested in.
We don’t get to watch the Agatha Christie series here. However, I have watched them again..and again on YouTube. Whatever I can get my hands on.
So, to me David Suchet IS Hercule Poirot. He embodies the Hercule Poirot that fills my mind when I read the adventures of his little grey cells.
I didn’t realise that the Hercule Poirot series ran for 25 years!!!
And it ended. Hercule Poirot dies an old man 😦 I haven’t read the book. It’s called Curtain. I haven’t watched it yet either, because I can’t seem to find it on YouTube
I stumbled across this video posted on YouTube called, Being Poirot. Watching it, I had this sudden feeling of sadness come over me. David Suchet hosted the show and it starts with Poirot’s death scene.
The feeling was like saying good bye to a close friend. Someone who brought a sense of enjoyment into my reading life. It was a strange feeling.
If I had not been sitting in the clinic, I’d probably have bawled…well okay, maybe bawling is a tad melodramatic. Maybe just cry.
In this documentary, David takes us along to discover and re-visit places and people linked to Poirot. He meets with Christie’s grandson, and the composer for the well known tune that marks the start of each Poirot episode.
He goes to Belgium and to the town that is convinced to be the birth place of Poirot – they even have his birth certificate! That was a little surreal to watch. To the apartment block where Poirot lived. To discover the reason why he chose that particular building – symmetry!
It was an enjoyable albeit a sad journey.
You know, I’m so glad that Hercule Poirot still lives on. In the words that Agatha Christie wrote. In this and other adaptations of her novels.
I have never read any of her books, but I believe she has sold more books than any other author. She obviously was able to create very appealing stories and characters and worlds. Apparently they’re re-releasing most or all of her books again for some anniversary or something.
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ooh…hmm..oh dear..in the documentary, the books David is reading look really old! I’m sorta itching to get me hands on those sorts though..hehe.
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Stories are all about the characters for me. I’ve re-read mysteries over and over, too; not because there’s any mystery left, but because I love the characters. Hooray for the Poirots of the world! 🙂
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Yes! And the Christie’s of the world too! I am really curious to find out why I have this “love” of that era…and being a maid or a house manager or a secretary though..lol.
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David Suchet IS Hercule Poirot. I fully agree. The 2014 “Murder on the Orient Express” starring Kenneth Branagh as Poirot fails to appeal me. Just as I just can’t take Cumberbatch as Sherlock…for me, Jeremy Brett IS Sherlock!
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Ooh..I started watching Sherlock with Cumberhatch, so for me, he seems to be an awesome Sherlock. However, I haven’t really read any Sherlock novels, so I may be uneducated in my choice 😉
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I really want to watch this documentary but feel like I should dive into some of the episodes of Poirot first to appreciate the documentary more, along with the books themselves. I guess I can always pop in the library to try out the books when my reading pile isn’t so huge! My Mother used to watch Poirot years ago and while I enjoyed it, I never paid it too much attention. I’d like to go revisit it soon but I’m still working my way through Star Trek Next Generation 🙂 I do love how a really good mystery is built up and how they hide the twist until the end. No matter what the genre, I will always enjoy watching detective shows and the mysteries that they are forced to solve 🙂
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