Book Club

Poirot Stories

Poirot is Agatha Christie's most famous and popular detective.  No doubt he would agree that he deserves that accolade!

Here is the place to discuss all of his stories in detail with other fans.  The most insightful comments will be added to the Stories pages.  But remember to beware spoilers!

If you can't find your favourite Poirot story here, don't worry - we'll be adding them all soon.

Warning: These discussions may contain spoilers!

Appointment with Death

Jemma 05 Sep 09 at 11:13 a.m. GMT

Set in the Middle East, Appointment with Death allowed Christie to indulge her love of the exotic. Strong female characters are at the root of the story. The overbearing Lady Westholme was based on a woman who Christie had once met in the Middle East. Despite this the public identified her as Nancy Astor, Britain's most famous MP. Sarah King also demonstrates a strong female role - being a Doctor at a time when few women were. Is this sense of feminism seen elsewhere in Christie's work?

In this novel we see hints of Christie's understanding of mental illness. The character of Ginny is portrayed as vulnerable and in need of help and support. Could this be a reference to Christie's own experience when she suffered a breakdown? It certainly shows her awareness of changing attitudes to humour nature.

Login or register to add posts and reply

44 replies

Reverse order

SeaView 11 Nov 11 at 11:06 a.m. GMT

Jemma,

I like your thoughts so much!

The overbearing Lady Westholme, isn't she horrible? I just love the tender Hayley Mills who played the role of archaeologist in the video version with Peter Ustinov. She is so patient and gentle in stark contrast to Lady Westholme.

Yes, the female doctor was a shock. I just love the idea of the world tour with one family having a huge fling on tour together.

Maybe Christie named Lady Westholme "West" to imply she was from the U.S. where a lot of pushy, aggressive people are the norm.

Exotic beauty of Jerusalem, just love it. I have never read this one, only seen the movie version on my video. I just love Carrie Fisher in those 40s clothes all delicate sheer dresses with floral prints. The clothes in this on the young women are absolutely gorgeous.

Ustinov as Poirot is outstanding as always. Hard to believe it was Palestine not Israel? did I get that right.

The line about Dr. King not being allowed entry into a church because she was wearing no sleeves and Ustinov's line: perhaps sleeves are holy...a cute chuckle.

As others on this Book Club say, I agree with them that I read Christie for FULL escapism from much of the sordid and horrible behavior of the 21st century. I find a world in Christie where there are still mostly good manners, or at least civility and courtesy. Ah! how sweet life is then.

I'm not as refined as Poirot and Christie's characters, but I wish to be.

SeaView 11 Nov 11 at 10:56 a.m. GMT

anonymoose_au What a beautiful yet simple way you put it about Mrs. Boyton's stepchildren: "they were unhappy all their lives" and how the happy ending just made up for all the misery. Somehow the way you said it keeps ringing in my memory, the simple joy of a final victory after great pain.

MsBuckley 24 Jul 11 at 2:35 p.m. GMT

Very good plot, such a tremendous ending!  I loved both the book and the David Suchet movie, the crime solution is amazing!

freezer1212 21 Jul 11 at 12:43 p.m. GMT

I ENJOYED READING THIS BOOK. WHEN I READ THE SOLUTION I WAS TOTALLY SURPRISED. YOU SEE, MRS. BOYNTON'S BEHAVIOUR MADE ME BELIEVE THAT ONE OF HER CHILDREN HAD KILLED HER. HOWEVER IT WAS NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL!!!!

Epsilon14 18 Jul 11 at 1:30 p.m. GMT

It was an amazing book and I loved it. The book was dragging but enter Poirot and the paced up excitingly. The motive was also quite good taking into account Mrs. Boynton's personality. It was a really captivating bok!!

Carsinger 07 Jul 11 at 7:12 p.m. GMT

Me as well! Her descriptions of the settings and  locations make it so easy to visualize being there!!

Tommy_A_Jones

Puffinjill, That is exactly why I read Christie, for nthe escapism, If I want gritty realism there is alot to choose from both on TV and in Books although I don't read those books, I read Authors that vare just as Cozy as Christie but most are Modern Authos; Hazel Hoilt, Betty Rowlands, etc. If this book has a down side I would have loved to have had the Female Doctor and the Male Psychiatrist working together as the sleuths and have the book without Poirot like The Moving Finger didn't need Miss Marple but that is just a very minor point and as the book is it produced the question of how the Doctor knew about the solution to Murder On The Orient Excpress (Have you read the interesting blog about it?)  

Tommy_A_Jones 28 May 11 at 3:06 p.m. GMT

I didn't mind the ending at the end with the Murderer(s), it put me in mind of Death On The Nile and was the only change I found excusable, I thought having The Husband around confused the issue and I found myself wondering which child was the Victim's and Which was the Husbands so much so it interfered with my Viewing and I felt the Child abuse portrayed the way it was spoilt what should have been an enjoyable 2 hours but wasn't for me, I felt Tim Curry should have been Sir Charles Cartwright Three-Act Tragedy and if we had to have the Victims Husband Martin Shaw should have played him, I felt the Part played by David Soul in the PU version was much better portrayed and although it was never suggested I like the idea he was part of the Victims past life and like to think they were accomplaces, the Nun who I suspect was nicked from Destination Unknown was an unnecsssary addition and why was she allowed to escape into the Dessert only to Collapse, if she had to escape why couldn't Carbury shoot her in the Back?

Tommy_A_Jones 02 May 11 at 4:09 p.m. GMT

Poirot not appearing for a while makes the Book Drag at first just like others where he doesn't appear for a relatively long time but the book soon picks up unlike in Murder In Mesopotamia and Three-Act Tragedy IMHO

saumya 02 May 11 at 11:02 a.m. GMT

i think the book was rather slow but anyhow the plot was twisty as always!

ChristieFanBlogger 07 Mar 11 at 5:06 p.m. GMT

Am I the only one who spent all my time reading the end of this book with Murder on the Orient Express open to figure out which character blabbed to Nadine Boynton?  Very annoyed that was just tossed out and not answered.  I've decided Hildegard Schmidt became the Boynton's cook after she got off the train.  Does anyone out there know?

monsieurpaul 23 Jan 11 at 2:04 p.m. GMT

• Well.You can't like every book you read.For example i didn't like "Why they didn't asked Evans" at the begining but while i was reading more it became very interesting.I agree with you.it's very dark.Their mother was such a witch,at the end everthing is back to normal, but i really liked a whole story of theit's past.

Tommy_A_Jones 19 Jan 11 at 4:27 p.m. GMT

Everything these days has to have a Modern lurid aspect which the Makers of Marple and Poirot think fits with Agatha Christies work but they are wrong it doesn't, last night I watched something where someone killed someone to ci=over up he was a Poedophile and that is fine for the 21st Century (Although that Motive appears in everything too much these days) but that motive isn't approriate with Agatha Christie's things as she provided enough Great Motives and storylines.

Lone_Wolf 18 Jan 11 at 7:08 p.m. GMT

The oft-cited justification for the TV mismash changes is the murder motivation vagueness in the original novel. Unfortunately, the screenwriters' cure turned out to be worse then the disease.

Anita_Clue 18 Jan 11 at 6:49 p.m. GMT

The television production of Appointment with Death was very disappointing.  It was bad enough that the children suffered mental abuse, but to show the physical abuse was too much to handle.  And why did they have to make Westholm like that?  I know that writers for television need to add excitement, but they butchered Dame Christie's story to be nearly unrecognizable.

iamhercule 01 Oct 10 at 9:47 p.m. GMT

This is not very nice to abuse you children in this way!

MissQuin 01 Oct 10 at 10:22 a.m. GMT

I hope no-one clicks on it! It could be a virus link anyway.

GKCfan 01 Oct 10 at 4:13 a.m. GMT

I think we have been spammed...

MissQuin 06 Jul 10 at 3:35 p.m. GMT

Spoilers for end of AWD I actually thought the ending to Appoinment with Death was really satisfiying. Mr West has summed it up-if those poor unhappy people had a miserable end, it would be too disapointing for the reader.

It's not as if the end is all twee and sickly. They don't all sit around giggling and saying they all lived happily ever after. Ginerva quietly says

" Almost without a pause, her voice quivered softly into the lines from Cymberline while the others listened spellbound to the music of them:

Fear no more the heat o' the sun,

Nor the furious winter's rages,

Thou thy worldy task hast done,

 Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages...

I think that's a truly lovely end to a sad story. Those lines sum up more than a long rambling monolouge or how a TV show would end "Hurrah, the old witch is dead so let's all sit around getting drunk"

Mr_west 06 Jul 10 at 11:07 a.m. GMT

anonymoose_au

I don't know Xrysoula, we're told in the book that Mrs. Boynton became the children's stepmother when they were very young. So basically their whole lives they've been under the thumb of this terrible woman. They never went to school, or left the grounds and were told constantly that they couldn't do anything by themselves, that they were worthless and could never escape. That would have a huge impact on them - like battered woman syndrome. A lot of women in these situation know they're in a horrible place, but they can't get out. For some of them they can only get out by killing their abuser.

I agree it was a pretty sappy ending, but I found the end of Death on the Nile so depressing that I was rather relieved to read this one!

i think Christie wrote such a happy ending because in the book she expline that they were unhappy all their life, so the ending just makes up for everything, if she did a sad or bad end (like Death On The Nile) this novel was realy depressing

xrysoula 05 Jul 10 at 7:26 p.m. GMT

Too bad. I tried to sign in in another one -the official I think-, but it was too hard to use.On the contrary, this one is excellent, I believe.I just have one small suggestion:When a novel comes up for discussion, a little note with all the characters' names would come in very handy, so that one doesn 't have to stop writing in order to look them up. It 's not easy to remember them all by heart, plus those of us who are reading them translated in another language, will at last find out how they are spelled!