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Read stories in order

If you want to discuss each of Christie's stories in the order in which they were published, use this guide to direct your reading.

Is it important?

TheButlerDidIT 12 Dec 09 at 2:23 p.m. GMT

Does it matter if I read the Poirots in any order. It would be stupid to start with Curtain. I am reading the Marple books in order because I was told thats the best way to read them as you have to read one book first to avoid spoilers.

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59 replies

Reverse order

Tommy_A_Jones 13 Dec 11 at 1:02 p.m. GMT

Dumb Witness mentions 4 other books so quite alot of the time it is important to read the books in order

Number3 12 Nov 11 at 10:04 p.m. GMT

The big reason for the order is spoilers.  For example, "Curtain" contains spoilers for "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."    Another spoiler link is between "The Pale Horse" and "Cards on The Table."

notguilty 12 Nov 11 at 6:20 p.m. GMT

I agree with "HerzeY", I don't think the order is very important.  In addition, to read them in order you would have to possess most if not all the books of the subject detective.  Something I do not have.  And "order" is just not important for the non-recurring detectives or books.

I even read "Curtain" and "Postern of Fate" before completing the M. Poirot and T&T books.  But I still enjoy the books published before them.  I read the books as I find them.  Dame Agatha wrote over 80 novels and numerous short stories, I just can not remember the solutions to all of them.  The only ones that I can accurately recall are those stories which I enjoyed the most and those I found to be just awlful. 

HerzeY 01 Sep 11 at 6:03 p.m. GMT

I think that the order isn't important, but I leave the Marple and Poirot's last books to read at last.

It's my opinion but everybody have them own thinking.

Tommy_A_Jones 07 Jul 11 at 4:44 p.m. GMT

The Ariadne Oliver books should be read in order, Cards On The Table mentions others that the 4 Sleuths have been involved in, The Ariadne Oliver Books must be read in order and, Murder On The Orient Express should be read before Appointment With Death and the Dumb Witness refers to Death In The Clouds, The Mysterious Affair At Styles and a couple more, The Books with Hastings should be read in order and I think Cards On The Table should be read before Towards Zero

 I would say the only time it didn't matter what order you read them in is with books with Non-recurring Characters like Endless Night and Death Comes As The End and And Then There Were None and The Sittaford Mystery

Number3 21 Dec 10 at 2:37 p.m. GMT

Well go leafs I now know not to go to that shop for Carr's for the time being.  The ones that have found have all come from charity shops/ Thrift stores.

go_leafs_nation 06 Dec 10 at 1:58 p.m. GMT

I used to live in Windsor. It's got a great bookstore with plenty of mysteries of all sorts, among them plenty of Christies and tons by Ngaio Marsh. (I'm afraid I ran off with their entire John Dickson Carr collection though.) Unfortunately, prices are on average about $4 per book. Some cost less, but the hardcovers usually cost about $8.

Personally, I find myself purchasing books at a particular bookstore near me, but from time to time I use abebooks.com. It's a good site with some relatively cheap books. If you manage to find a bookseller near you, most are reasonable about holding the book so you can pick it up in person (and thus save on shipping). I highly recommend the site. It's a lot more reliable than ebay or amazon.

Number3 05 Dec 10 at 2:10 p.m. GMT

Knotty, have you gone to Charity shops/thrift stores to find the books.  It can be hit or miss, but they are less expensive then the book shops. 

How close is your town to the U.S. border?  I have found plenty of AC's in shops that are about an hour and a half away from Windsor.

emilytrefusis 02 Nov 10 at 10:48 p.m. GMT

Of course yu could read them in chronological order, but I don't think it matters that much. I even read the Seven dial before Chimneys.

My first book was Card ot Table, where the solution to several novels is spoiled, and where four recurring detectives are present. It doesn't matter that much, because you don't remember those solutions anyway.

knottyceltic 29 Sep 10 at 5 a.m. GMT

To stay on topic (Reading Order).  I have so far not read in any particular order. I've read more in terms of "availability" and since I prefer Poirot I've probably read mostly his mysteries.  I am however going to pay more attention to reading in publication order now that I realize that some characters are mentioned in subsequent books.  So far I've only noticed the mention of "the dead girl in old Bantry's place" and "Mrs. Lancaster's" little "cameo appearance but thankfully in both cases I had accidentally read the books in proper order.  From here on out I think I will make an attempt to procure and read the books in a more conscious order.  So far it's just been lucky purchases and lucky guesses.

Could someone copy and paste the list here?  Or is the list too long to suit the text limit in this forum?

knottyceltic 29 Sep 10 at 4:54 a.m. GMT

I also was amused by your earlier conversations about "finding books at charity shops" and such.  I live in Ontario, CANADA in a small city of 30,000 people.  We don't have any book stores but we have 2 used book shops.  An Agatha Christie paperback in our used book stores would cost anywhere from 4.00+ and a hardcover even more if you can find them.  It is incredibly RARE to even find Christie in a used book shop and is a great "find" if you do.  Even the huge book stores in larger cities mostly stock paperbacks and you have to order hardcover if that's what you prefer to collect.  I find most of my Christies online from the USA via Ebay and order some from the large online vendors such as CHAPTERS (Canadian) and Amazon.  People very much take advantage of the fact that publishers don't reprint Christie books very often here and private citizens will offer tatty hardcovers of Christie online starting at 80 or 90.00! (there is not a great deal of difference between our dollar and your pound so you can see how people take advantage of the lack of newly re-printed Christies on this side of the world).  I have started looking for Christie books on Ebay.uk now as there is such a limited number of Christies still in print over here.  I have had a little better luck with Ebay.uk in that regard.  Brand new hardcover re-prints of Christie books are around 20.00 brand new but with all the titles that are no longer in publication you are looking at 80.00+ to purchase those titles no longer in publication.  I hope you have better luck that way in Britain and Europe.

knottyceltic 29 Sep 10 at 4:53 a.m. GMT

Interesting observations by all of you regarding what constitutes great or classic literature.  I am twice Miss Quinn's age and wondered as I read your discussions if you are all young adults or if your ages vary.  Novels we/I read in highschool were not necssarily considered "classics" although some were indeed in the "classic literature" category but 20+ years on, most all are considered "classics" now. 

cont... next post

JuliaUpjohn 01 Aug 10 at 11 a.m. GMT

Well put both of you. Exactly what I was trying to say, puffinjill. MissQuin, of course lists of classics are mainly made up of pre 21st century literature. I mean, it's only been going on for ten years, the expectations have to be realistic. That being said, I agree with all your points. It might be more difficult now, but perhaps that'll make the good ones even better?

MissQuin 01 Aug 10 at 10:37 a.m. GMT

That's well put puffinjill. But I know when I mean a "classic" book, I don't mean one that's just famous. One that stirs the emotions, that makes you think, that involves the reader, either makes them laugh or cry orfeel what the chaarcters ar going through. If I read a book now and it did that, I'd see it as a classic in my eyes anyway.

When lists of classic/best books are compiled now, they are made up of mainly pre 21century literature.

But modern day authors are at a disadvantage for many reasons.

1. It's harder to live up to what has gone before
2. Uppper/middle class people read more as a form of entertainment. Nowadays we had distractions (like the internet;)
3. People had a different education. They learn Latin and Greek and read dozens or books that would be compleltely above understanding to alot of modern teenages.
4. People talk differently. If a books set modern day,and it was true refelection of how people talk in Britian it would be very different to Austen. Most people use shorter words, less complicated. Not that there isn't still beauty in modern day lanugage, because at times there still is.

Puffinjill 01 Aug 10 at 7:46 a.m. GMT

Great point, JuliaUpjohn. Classics are only recognised as such after the passing of time and we cannot predict which books from this day and age will still capture the imagination of readers in years to come. Every single writer has always been influenced by those who have gone before and their own life experiences so no book is ever completely unique or original in every way. But each book has it's own unique view on the subject being written about as no two writers will see the same subject in the same way.

JuliaUpjohn 31 Jul 10 at 9:29 p.m. GMT

I think classics stil can be made, we just don't know they're classics yet. :) And Tolkien were influenced by Der Ring des Nibelungen, fairytales and mythology (Kalevala being the most noted), Shakespeare, Beowulf... And so on. I think every writer will always be influenced in one way or another, but it's all about how they put it together and then add something personal, something new. The best ones end up as classics.   Maybe we don't see the ones that stand out as easily today because we are influenced by a lot of the same things as todays writers? I don't know, but I still think great literature can be made, in all genres.

Oh, just remembered a great book from the last decade, "Life of pi" by Yann Martel. Look at us, ranting away about literature.  That wasn't really my intention. In the bottom line, give me an AC book and I'll disappear behind it until I finish it!

MissQuin 31 Jul 10 at 2:40 p.m. GMT

In the 20 st century I think they were still breaking new ground. Like when AC wrote Ackroyd or Then There Were None it caused a senastion. If someone uses those plots now, it's no long new. It's in the noughties literature that lack innovation.

I beleive there still very good writers out there. Ones that can write engaging, interesting stories. But purely original? No. JK Rowling is a writer that has caputred so many people's imagainations. But she did undenaibly rely heavily on the work of Tolkien, Roald Dahl, myths, Celtic legends, King Arthur plus many other authors to blend them into something which although clever, wouldn't be seen as a groundbreaking different. Twilight is poular too, but without it's forerunner Bram Stoker's Dracula would it ever have emerged?

On the postive note, as you wisely say, we still have all those centuries of literature to read now. But I can't help to hope that some of the real clasisc authors work might emerge, berhaps in a fireplace, or ancient attic a old manuscript will appear of stories written by one of the great authors.

Music is different though. It doesn't rely as much on being entirely new, it can blend different genres together and sound fresh even if it's not original. But of course all modern artists have influences, but as long as the actual passion for music is there it'll work.

JuliaUpjohn 31 Jul 10 at 2:20 p.m. GMT

True, but I still think it's better now, because we can enjoy all of it, because it's more available. Besides, what about John Irving, Douglas Adams, JK Rowling, Hemingway? True, not all of these are 21st century, but they're not victorian either. And in my opinion very talented and great writers. Not to mention all the non-english/american ones!

That said, I do love the victorian writers too. And of course, everything has a beginning, and personally I don't think writers have done everything there is to do just yet. Naive perhaps, but I like it.

Same goes with music I think, but I'm a musician. So thinking music today is just a mix of things done before would be rather depressive....

MissQuin 31 Jul 10 at 1:27 p.m. GMT

Yes, but Victorian authors could come up with really groundbreaking plots. Dickens and Gaskell shocked by using realism rarely seen before. The Bronte's wrote with a passion not shown by female writers before. Jane Austen astounded with her wit and cleverness.

The detective genre started to emerge during the 19th century. One of these The moonstone by Wilkie Collins is a real classic. Working out who had done a crime was a new idea once.

So no-ones treading new ground these days. Same with music actually.

JuliaUpjohn 31 Jul 10 at 1:14 p.m. GMT

Everything written today is influenced by older literature, but that applies to everything, doesn't it? It's not like great literature was invented in the 19th and 20th century, so I'm guessing they were as influenced by others as writers are today.

One thing I like about literatur today is how it approaches other cultures, you can learn so much. Examples  are House of the mosque (from Iran), the Kite Runner (Afghanistan), and A Fine Balance (India). Sure, AC's books are often placed in foreign settings, and she did travel a lot herself. But they're still so...british. That's not a bad thing, that's why I like her books. :)

And no, no such thing as too many books! Except poorly written ones...