Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

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Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

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Summary

Volume 32 in the Agatha Christie Collection (1939) Limited edition of 1,000 copies worldwide

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Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

Volume 32 in the Agatha Christie Collection (1939) Limited edition of 1,000 copies worldwide It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed. But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man…
'You yearned for a 'good violent murder with lots of blood'So this is your special story - written for you' Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie, the acknowledged 'Queen of Crime' (The Observer) was born in Torquay in 1890. During the First World War she worked as a hospital dispenser, and it was here that she gleaned the working knowledge of various poisons that was to prove so useful in her detective stories.

Her first novel was The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced Hercule Poirot to the world. This was published in 1920 (although in fact she had written it during the war) and was followed over the next six years by four more detective novels and a short story collection. However, it was not until the publication of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd that Agatha Christie's reputation was firmly established. This novel, with its complex plot and genuinely shocking conclusion, attracted considerable public attention and has since been acknowledged by many experts as a masterpiece. In 1930 the sharp-witted spinster sleuth Miss Marple made her first appearance in The Murder at the Vicarage. In all, Agatha Christie published over 80 novels and short story collections.

The brilliance of Christie's plots, and her enduring appeal, have led to several dramatisations of her work on radio, television and film. In 1930 she was one of a number of crime writers asked to contribute a chapter to a mystery, Behind the Screen, that was broadcast on BBC radio on 21st June that year. More recently, June Whitfield portrayed Miss Marple on BBC Radio 4, whilst John Moffat starred as Hercule Poirot. On screen, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, Margaret Rutherford, Joan Hickson, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie have all memorably played Agatha Christie's famous sleuths.

As her play The Mousetrap (the longest-running play in the history of theatre) testifies, Agatha Christie's detective stories are likely to appeal for a long time to come.

Agatha Christie was awarded a CBE in 1956 and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1971. She died in 1976.


Agatha Christie, the acknowledged 'Queen of Crime' (The Observer) was born in Torquay in 1890. During the First World War she worked as a hospital dispenser, and it was here that she gleaned the working knowledge of various poisons that was to prove so useful in her detective stories.

Her first novel was The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced Hercule Poirot to the world. This was published in 1920 (although in fact she had written it during the war) and was followed over the next six years by four more detective novels and a short story collection. However, it was not until the publication of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd that Agatha Christie's reputation was firmly established. This novel, with its complex plot and genuinely shocking conclusion, attracted considerable public attention and has since been acknowledged by many experts as a masterpiece. In 1930 the sharp-witted spinster sleuth Miss Marple made her first appearance in The Murder at the Vicarage. In all, Agatha Christie published over 80 novels and short story collections.

The brilliance of Christie's plots, and her enduring appeal, have led to several dramatisations of her work on radio, television and film. In 1930 she was one of a number of crime writers asked to contribute a chapter to a mystery, Behind the Screen, that was broadcast on BBC radio on 21st June that year. More recently, June Whitfield portrayed Miss Marple on BBC Radio 4, whilst John Moffat starred as Hercule Poirot. On screen, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, Margaret Rutherford, Joan Hickson, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie have all memorably played Agatha Christie's famous sleuths.

As her play The Mousetrap (the longest-running play in the history of theatre) testifies, Agatha Christie's detective stories are likely to appeal for a long time to come.

Agatha Christie was awarded a CBE in 1956 and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1971. She died in 1976.


Famous for more than sixty film performances, beginning in wartime with In Which We Serve and continuing with such classics as Brighton Rock, The Angry Silence, 10 Rillington Place, The Great Escape, Miracle on 34th Street and Spielberg's Jurassic Park, Richard Attenborough has always fought tenaciously for the survival of British cinema. As a producer/director he has also been the driving force behind Gandhi, Oh! What a Lovely War, A Bridge Too Far, Cry Freedom and Shadowlands. He was knighted in 1976, appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in 1987 and became a life peer in 1993. He has chaired numerous professional organisations including Channel 4 Television and the British Film Institute and, over the years, has worked tirelessly for a wide range charities.

Diana Hawkins, formerly a broadcaster and latterly a film producer, wrote the storyline for Chaplin and, as Diana Carter, three novels and a children's book. She is currently an executive director of Dragon International Studios, a company chaired by Richard Attenborough, which is building a new film making facility in South Wales.

SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780002313094
ISBN 10 000231309X
Title Hercule Poirot's Christmas
Author Agatha Christie
Series Agatha Christie Collection S
Condition Unavailable
Binding type Hardback
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Year published 1998-10-19
Number of pages 256
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable