Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot is 100 Years Old!
Even though I’ve read only a few Agatha Christie books, I respect the heck out of what she accomplished. Yeah, a lot of her books were the same (meaning they had a very similar formula), but at least she was rewriting a really good book all the time.
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2020 marks 100 years since the publication of Agatha Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles – the book that introduced Hercule Poirot to the world. We’re celebrating 100 years of Agatha Christie stories with a host of activities and events for readers, viewers, listeners and fans. Join us as we celebrate what we love about the Queen of Crime, her timeless stories and her unique characters.
This year sees the release of Sophie Hannah’s new Poirot novel The Killings at Kingfisher Hill, as well as the big screen launch of Death on the Nile with Kenneth Branagh and an all-star cast, so you can expect plenty of exciting news and updates too. Read on to find out more. We’ll keep you updated on our website, and on social media using #100YearsofChristie.
Read more at 100 Years of Agatha Christie!
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It’s kind of weird for the Agatha Christie website to promote Sophie Hannah’s Hercule Poirot books. Maybe Hannah’s books are good, but they’re not really about the real Hercule Poirot; they’re about some guy who just happens to be named Hercule Poirot.
The same applies to other iconic fictional characters like Sherlock Holmes or James Bond or Conan the Barbarian. Anybody other than the original authors aren’t really writing about those characters. I should know; I used to read the impostor’s books. They were okay, but they weren’t really the original characters.
I don’t necessarily blame the Agatha Christie estate for hiring a new author for popular Agatha Christie characters. As a reader, I can usually spot the difference between the original and the newby. Thankfully, if I ever want to read another Agatha Christie novel, there are plenty to choose from.
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What do you think? Should estates hire new authors to write about iconic characters? Are these novels ever as good as the originals? What is your favorite Agatha Christie novel?
Dysfunctional Literacy 
No, absolutely not – the estates should not be hiring other authors to write about the original characters. It seems wrong, and a bit money-grubbing. It’s been a while since I have read any of Agathe Christie’s books, but I really enjoyed all of the ones I read. Hercule Poirot always seemed a bit pompous, but I thoroughly entertained the Miss Marple books.
All I remember about Hercule Poirot is that he told a guy he wouldn’t work for him because Poirot didn’t like his face. Haha! I respect that.
That Hercule – what a guy!!