Hercule Poirot is one of the most famous literary detectives to exist. He came into existence with the book The Mysterious Affair at Styles in 1920. He also appeared in 33 novels and 51 short stories and is the most prolific of Agatha Christie’s detectives. His oddities include an egg-shaped head and a splendid mustache, which was his pride and joy, and his penchant for mixing French phrases in English sentences. Here are some things Poirot fans should know about this greatest detective of all time.
Interesting Hercule Poirot Facts!
1. He is obsessed with Order and Method, even when it comes to his breakfast. Nothing irritated him more than disorder and asymmetry. Many times, this methodical nature of his has helped him to solve crimes.
2. The novel The Big Four gives a brief insight into his childhood, in which it is shown that a small village in the Ardennes Forest, near Spa, Belgium, is where Poirot’s family home used to be.
3. We are not given much information about Poirot’s family except for two instances – one in the novel The Three Act Tragedy, where it is mentioned that Poirot comes from a large, upper-middle-class family and has a younger sister. The second instance is in the short story The Chocolate Box, where we find out the sister’s name when he mentions his ‘little sister Yvonne.’
4. He had a working relationship with one of the recurring characters in Christie’s novels, Chief Inspector James Japp of Scotland Yard, prior to his introduction in 1920. They were acquainted in 1904 when Poirot was with the Belgian Police Force, and they worked on two cases, which included the Abercrombie forgery case and the Baron Altara case, of which the former was unrecorded.
5. Poirot’s other acquaintances who made their way into Christie’s novels include Mr. Joseph Aarons and Pierre Combeau. Both of them have appeared in The Big Four, and Mr. Aarons has additionally appeared in two more Hercule Poirot novels, such as The Murder on The Links and The Mystery of The Blue Train.
6. The detective’s only known romantic involvement was with Countess Vera Rossakoff. She first appeared in the novel The Big Four, and she was working as a secretary to one of the members of The Big Four gang. She was also a jewel thief, but none of these things stopped Poirot from ardently admiring her despite his rigid feelings regarding crime and punishment. It was hinted that Poirot would marry the Countess at the end of the book, but that did not happen. She appears twenty years later in a short story titled The Capture of Cerberus, from the short story collection The Labours of Hercules, where she is the proprietress of a new lounge called Hell.
7. The novel Big Four is a treasure trove of Hercule Poirot’s facts because this next one is from that novel, too. Poirot mentions that he has a twin brother named Achille Poirot, whom he seemingly does not get along with. But the existence of this identical twin is heavily debated, as in the book, it is shown that Hercule Poirot disguised himself as Achille Poirot to throw The Big Four gang off his trail. It has yet to be confirmed whether Achille Poirot exists as an independent person or is an alter ego used by Hercule Poirot for his cases. I like to think that there is a lookalike of this detective roaming around, minus the trademark mustache.
8. Poirot is known for his revolting choice of drinks that horrified his friend Hastings. His favored drinks list includes thick Hot chocolate, something called Tisane, which was said to have had medicinal benefits, a blackcurrant syrup he loved to call Sirop de cassis, and a sweet liquor called Crème de menthe. He also prefers Sherry and likes to sip it before a meal.
9. Poirot is indirectly connected to another Christie detective from her standalone novel Parker Pyne Investigates, Parker Pyne: both the recurring characters, Miss. Ariadne Oliver, an author of detective novels and a self-insert of Agatha Christie, and Miss Felicity Lemon, a secretary, used to work with Mr. Parker Pyne first before jumping ship with Hercule Poirot. Miss Ariadne Oliver met Hercule Poirot in the novel Cards on the Table and was a more intelligent sidekick than Hastings. She also appeared in a few more novels and helped him with his cases. Miss Felicity Lemon came to work as Poirot’s secretary after her stint with Mr. Pyne and believed in efficiency and order as much as Poirot did.
10. Poirot has made numerous television and movie appearances and has been portrayed by actors such as Austin Trevor, Tony Randall, Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, and, more recently, Kenneth Branagh. Of all these actors, Peter Ustinov was purported to be the least likely Poirot, and Christie’s daughter Rosalind Hicks was said to have disapproved of his portrayal claiming that he was not at all like Poirot.
These are some of the lesser-known facts about this famous detective. Do you know any more facts about Hercule Poirot that were not mentioned in this article? If you do, let us know in the comments below!