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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.

Reading order for newbie

MsPurpleM 14 Jul 11 at 3:21 p.m. GMT

Recently I've watched one the Agatha Chritie movies and got completely hooked. I have never read a single Agatha Christie book, but the movie really sparked my interest and I would like if anyone here could help me with the order. :) Which book should I start with and maybe an order for an after. Thank you in advance!

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13 replies

Reverse order

Tommy_A_Jones 23 May 12 at 2:25 p.m. GMT

It doesn't matter which you read 1st out of ABC Murders and Cards On The Table but Cards On The Table mentions ABC Murders and Visa versa 

mizscarlett 22 May 12 at 9:26 p.m. GMT

i started with and then there were none and murder on the orient express... and after i was pretty much addicted.. i havent read the books in any type of order but as someone else suggested,probably best to break the books down by detectives and then read those in order and then the others who do not have poirot,marple or tommy/tuppence could be read in any order

Miss_Sherlock 17 May 12 at 9:51 a.m. GMT

Thanks, Tommy_A_Jones, I'm enjoying the journey so far! My list says that Peril At End House comes immediately before Lord Edgware Dies. I have both of these yet to read.

Tommy_A_Jones 16 May 12 at 1:43 p.m. GMT

Hello Miss_Sherlock, Read The Mysterious Affair At Styles before Curtain, read The Mysaterious Affauir At Styles, The Mystery of The Blue Train, Death In The Clouds and Cards On The Table before Dumb Witness, Read The Poirot Books with Ariadne in Order, and Read Caribbean Mystery before Nemesis, Peril at End House refersa to some earlier books like Lord Edgware Dies and Appointment With Death refers to Murder On The Orient Express, Cards On The Table also refers to Murder On The Orient Express, and Cards On The Table should be read before Pale Horse, but sometimes it doesn't matter, but those points stick out for me.

Enjoy The Jorney, In The Main I have and won't read the books I haven't enjoyed again. 

Miss_Sherlock 16 May 12 at 8:15 a.m. GMT

Thanks LucyE, that's a very helpful answer.

LucyE 15 May 12 at 3:36 p.m. GMT

Hello, Miss Sherlock. AC reading order, or rather writing/setting order, is a subject of some confusion and some mystery. Almost all her short stories appeared in magazines or newspapers before -- sometimes long before -- publication in book collections. So the date a story collection was first published isn't always a reliable guide to when a story was written. The good news for you is that Poirot is easier to sort out and -- I think -- his story reading order is less important than with Marple.  As for weaving reading the short stories and novels into a timeline, sounds like you're on the right track. Over half of the Poirot short stories were first published, therefore written, before 1924. So, all of the stories in Poirot Investigates can be placed within Styles and Murder on the Links.  Sames goes for most of the stories in Poirot's Early Cases.  The exceptions are:  The Third Floor Flat, Double Sin, and The Wasps Nest, all of which date in or around 1929, and so fall between Mystery of the Blue Train and Peril at End House; and, Problem at Sea and How Does Your Garden Grow which date from the mid-1930s, so between Death in the Clouds and Dumb Witness seems about right.  The four stories in Murder in the Mews date 1936-37, so they'd fall between Dumb Witness and Cards on the Table.  The Labours of Hercules stories were first published in 1939-40, so they fall between Sad Cypress and Evil Under the Sun.  Finally, the five Poirot stories in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding collection, date from four different decades:  Underdog 1926, 4 & 20 Blackbirds 1936, Dream 1937, and Christmas Pudding and Spanish Chest 1960.

But to really answer your question:  Reading in order doesn't matter to many people.  If it does to you, I hope the above is helpful.

Miss_Sherlock 15 May 12 at 1:27 p.m. GMT

Hi, everyone. I've just joined the community. I've got all the Miss Marple novels, of which I've read the first three (I'm currently on A Murder Is Announced); I also have the 8 Poirot novels which feature Hastings (I've read The Mysterious Affair at Styles and Murder On The Links) and the complete Poirot short stories. I'd like to know whether or not it matters on the reading order of the Poirot short stories. I've worked out which ones went into Poirot Investigates and Poirot's Early Cases, but the book says the stories are placed in chronological order in the book. I'd like to leave the ones from Murder In The Mews, The Adventure Of The Christmas Pudding and The Labours Of Hercules until I've read some of the other earlier novels.

brendamonks 25 Oct 11 at 4:39 p.m. GMT

...and please don't forget her plays. Some of which have been converted into story format for ease of reading. I read most of Marple and Poirot when I was much much younger and I don't remember planning which order was best. I just enjoyed each novel for a complete story in itself. Watch the TV and film versions if you can as they are great interpretations of the books. I have never enjoyed Tommy & Tuppence characters and the books are my least favourite. Watched a couple of TV adaptations which make them more enjoyable. Then of course there are the stories which don't feature Marple or Poirot..."And Then There Were None" (also known as Ten Little Niggers). The black & white film version is superb. "Endless Night" is also a great story and I watched a TV version of this many many years ago but it's never been shown since unfortunately.

Lil_Bit 20 Jul 11 at 8 p.m. GMT

No problem! BTW, the stories in "Miss Marples Final Cases" are all published in other collections, so it's really not an essential part of a complete AC collection.

As for how long it will take, I think I finished them all in about three weeks, but I was on vacation for half of that time, so I had a bit more free time.

Happy reading!

MsPurpleM 19 Jul 11 at 9:26 p.m. GMT

Thank you Lil_Bit, you have been a great help to me! And so it is, I am starting with the "Thirteen Problems".Also thank you for letting me know about new Marple short stories, I definitelly knew nothing about that. I wonder how long it will take me to read all 13 of them :)...

Lil_Bit 19 Jul 11 at 6:14 p.m. GMT

When I sat down to re-read the books in order, I found it best to separate them by detectives--it allows you to follow the evolution of the characters better. Since you've started with Marple, here's the order that I suggest:

Thirteen Problems

Murder at the Vicarage

Body in the Library

Moving Finger

Sleeping Murder

Murder is Announced

Murder With Mirrors

Pocket Full of Rye

4:50 from Paddington

Mirror Crack'd

Caribbean Mystery

At Bertram's Hotel

Nemesis

There are a few Marple short stories, most of which (IIRC) were published pre-war. I'd probably read them around Sleeping Murder. That includes the erroneously-named collection "Miss Marple's Last Cases," which was only published in the UK.

The Tommy and Tuppence books MUST be read in publication order, as the characters age in real-time (They were both born around 1900-1902.) These books are: The Secret Adversary, Partners in Crime, N or M?, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, and Postern of Fate.

I also separated the Colonel Race and Superintendent Battle books, even though Race only appears in two books without Poirot (Man in the Brown Suit and Sparkling Cyanide). Battle's novels are: The Secret of Chimneys, The Seven Dials Mystery (the preceding two MUST be read in that order), Easy to Kill, and Towards Zero.

The non-series novels can really be read in any order, but some of them are sort of time-specific.

As for the Poirot books, I'll defer to Osborne on that one. I'm more or less reading them in publication order, but there's a lot of confusion about Poirot's retirement(s), which makes some of the books difficult to place.

MsPurpleM 19 Jul 11 at 4:21 p.m. GMT

Thank you Number3, since it's impossible to get that book in any stores nearby I had to order it online. In the meantime I decide to read Miss Marple novels, I just couldn't wait. ;) But thank you again, I definitelly need a companion book!

Number3 17 Jul 11 at 4:05 p.m. GMT

Pick up a copy of "The Life And Crimes Of Agatha Christie" by Charles Osborne.  It has a very good version of the reading order.