In this article, Hercule Poirot in literature will be addressed from a multidisciplinary and updated perspective, in order to exhaustively analyze and understand all aspects related to this topic. A journey will be made through the historical background, the different current theories and approaches, as well as the practical and social implications that Hercule Poirot in literature entails. It will seek to offer a complete and balanced vision that allows the reader to acquire comprehensive knowledge about this issue that is so relevant today.
This page details the books featuring the fictional character Hercule Poirot, created by Agatha Christie.
Only works written by Christie (including short stories, the novels and her play Black Coffee) are considered canon by most fans and biographers.
The Poirot books are still under copyright in the United Kingdom. The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links and Poirot Investigates are now public domain in the US but will not become public domain in the UK until 2046 (70 years after Christie's death). Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard, now owns the copyright to his grandmother's works.
In 2013, the Christie estate authorised author Sophie Hannah to write a new Poirot book, The Monogram Murders (2014). She later also wrote Closed Casket (2016), The Mystery of Three Quarters (2018), The Killings at Kingfisher Hill (2020) and Hercule Poirot's Silent Night (2023).
Short story collections listed as "ss"
Poirot settles down in London and opens a private detective agency. These are the short story years (26 short stories and only 4 novels).
Christie increased her novel production during this time (16 novels, 24 total short stories and 1 theatre play). Twelve short stories form The Labours of Hercules. The other short stories listed here take place in this period but were published before and after the publication of Hercules. 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.
In chronological order, only the following are set following World War II
Some Poirot adventures were later expanded into other stories or re-written. They are:
Other stories were adapted by Christie into plays, sometimes removing Poirot:
In addition, the 1930 play Black Coffee was novelized by Charles Osborne in 1998.