Unlike the models mentioned above, Christie's Poirot was clearly the result of her early development of the detective in her first book, written in 1916 but not published until 1920.

The same joke-translation is mentioned in Agatha Christie's Evil Under the Sun by Patrick Redfern to Hercule Poirot – a prank which inadvertently gives Poirot the answer to the murder.

Further, it is also mentioned ( in jest of course ) that this was one of the favourite cases of Hercule Poirot, while his friend Capt.

The screenplay followed the book closely with some minor changes and some characters omitted: in the adaptation there was only one archeologist, there was no doctor, Jane was a stewardess and in the end Poirot does not match Jane with young archeologist as mentioned in the novel and some other minor changes ( such as in the TV adaptation, Poirot takes Japp to Paris, whereas in the book he takes the French Surete detective and also in the book most of the characters have come from Le Pinet where they have been enjoying some time at the casino, whereas in the adaptation the characters have been at a tennis match in Paris.

However, it is mentioned in various novels that he, like Poirot, has a moustache which occasionally is a target of the detective's criticism: ' And your moustache.

The book was mentioned in Agatha Christie's mystery ( Hercule Poirot series ) novel Five Little Pigs, when Poirot asks one of the suspects ( Angela Warren ) if she read the book at the time the crime was committed.

The novel mentions several other Poirot investigations: the detective is seen to retell to Colonel Carbury the story of Cards on the Table, and Colonel Race from this investigation is mentioned.

The character of Miss Bulstrode is mentioned in a later Poirot novel with a strong school-girl plot, Hallowe ' en Party.

In The Chocolate Box story the exact date is not mentioned, but in the novel Peril at End House, chapter 15, Poirot says that the events took place in 1893.

* The Chocolate Box case is mentioned on the novel Peril at End House ( 1932 ) in chapter 15, when Poirot tells Commander Challenger that he indeed had failures in the past.

Notably, during this time his physical characteristics also change dramatically, and by the time Arthur Hastings meets Poirot again in Curtain, he looks very different from his previous appearances, having become thin with age and with obviously dyed hair.

Poirot dies from complications of a heart condition at the end of Curtain: Poirot's Last Case.

" Poirot and Hastings are reunited in Curtain: Poirot's Last Case, having been earlier reunited in The ABC Murders and Dumb Witness when Hastings arrives in England for business.

The Poirot books take readers through the whole of his life in England, from the first book ( The Mysterious Affair at Styles ), where he is a refugee staying at Styles, to the last Poirot book ( Curtain ), where he visits Styles once again before his death.

Aware that she would write no more novels, Christie authorized the publication of Curtain in 1975 to send off Poirot.

In other respects there is very little personal detail regarding him in these novels, until Curtain: Poirot's Last Case, which is presumed to take place a great many years later ; with his wife now dead, Hastings rejoins Poirot at Styles to help Poirot tackle one last case, Poirot dying of a heart attack at the conclusion but leaving Hastings a confession explaining his role in events.

Poirot certainly suggests that he should become involved with Elizabeth in the Postscript to Curtain, noting that Elizabeth must be reassured that she is not tainted by her sister's actions and that Hastings is still not unattractive to women, but there is no further evidence either way.

Hastings narrates the majority of the short stories featuring Poirot, but appears in only eight of the novels, all of which were written before 1940 ( except Curtain: Poirot's Last Case ).

At the time that Curtain was written this was almost certainly intended to be a reference to Death on the Nile, but if Hastings has seen Poirot a year before his death, then we must suppose that Poirot made a second trip there in about 1974.

* Hungarian: Függöny ( Poirot utolsó esete ) ( Curtain Last Case )

* Italian: Sipario ( L ' ultima avventura di Poirot ) ( Curtain Last Adventure )

Curtain was written at the same time and similarly locked away but publication of this latter book would not be possible until the end of her writing career as it recounts the death of Poirot.

This was the last of Christie's novels to feature either of these characters, although in terms of publication it was succeeded by Curtain: Poirot ’ s Last Case, which had been written in the early 1940s.

The book features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and is the second to last Poirot novel ( the last being 1975's Curtain: Poirot's Last Case ) to be published that features Hastings as narrator.

* The castle and its tunnels served as locations in 2009 for the episode The Clocks in ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot series with David Suchet.

Holtorf ’ s description of the archaeologist as a detective is very similar to Christie ’ s Poirot who is hugely observant and is very careful to look at the small details as they often impart the most information.

Hercule Poirot (; ) is a fictional Belgian detective, created by Agatha Christie.

Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels, one play, and more than 50 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.

A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle.

On publication of the latter, Poirot was the only fictional character to be given an obituary in the New York Times ; 6 August 1975 " Hercule Poirot is Dead ; Famed Belgian Detective ".

Here is how Captain Arthur Hastings first describes Poirot:

This is how Agatha Christie describes Poirot in The Murder on the Orient Express in the initial pages:

Poirot has dark hair, which he dyes later in life ( though many of his screen incarnations are portrayed as bald or balding ), and green eyes that are repeatedly described as shining " like a cat's " when he is struck by a clever idea.

Poirot is extremely punctual and carries a turnip pocket watch almost to the end of his career.

In The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Poirot operates as a fairly conventional, clue-based detective, depending on logic, which is represented in his vocabulary by two common phrases: his use of " the little grey cells " and " order and method ".

Irritating to Hastings is the fact that Poirot will sometimes conceal from him important details of his plans, as in The Big Four where Hastings is kept in the dark throughout the climax.

This aspect of Poirot is less evident in the later novels, partly because there is rarely a narrator so there is no one for Poirot to mislead.

Poirot is also willing to appear more foreign or vain than he really is in an effort to make people underestimate him.

In the later novels Christie often uses the word mountebank when Poirot is being assessed by other characters, showing that he has successfully passed himself off as a charlatan or fraud.

A former British Army officer in World War I, he is extremely brave and often used by Poirot for physical duties such as catching and subduing a criminal.

An unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star of 6 December 1947 said, " Hercule Poirot ... here emulates his Olympian namesake, Hercules ... As the old-timer tackled the 12 classical labors ... so Mrs. Christie turns her dapper sleuth loose on 12 modern counterparts in the detection-mystery line.