Poirot

 

I have always been fond of Agatha Christie's Poirot stories. I have read several of the novels and most of the stories more than once, but I am not so passionate about them that I have read every single one of the novels, and I can only really remember the plot of a couple of the books offhand. I adore Poirot, naturally. And, thinking much about cats lately (another story), it just occurred to me that "Poirot" could be a terrific name for a kitten. But I am not as strongly interested in the other ancillary characters in Poirot stories, and feel desperately cheated by how often Agatha Christie can sideline Poirot in her Poirot mysteries (which probably accounts for the couple books I never read). Sherlock Holmes rarely spends so much time not in the picture (and when he does the books suffer). And Nero Wolfe probably spends even more time than Poirot sidelined, but Wolfe prefers it that way, and Archie Griffin is every bit the compensation for Nero Wolfe's sparseness. Indeed that balance is perfect.

But now my darling wife and I are working our way through the David Suchet dramatizations of all the Poirot stories, and not only do I find myself delighted with them so far, but I am struck that their sometimes significant adaptive fixes mostly come the way of my preferences in detective duos.

First of all, we suffer far fewer Poirot absences, which is a delight from the go.

Second, they seem to have fully committed to Hastings, Poirot's occasional companion who in the adaptations, so far, is always with him. This would be not so great an improvement if Hastings were more the man of Agatha Christie's creation. But they have beautifully taken him by way of two of the best genius assistants of all time. He is now ten percent Archie Goodwin from the Nero Wolfe stories, nowhere near so clever, but steady, a man of action, and always up for a good time, and his spirit is immensely appreciated next to the more volatile and mercurial Poirot. But the other influence is just as delightful, and I only noticed it tonight watching "The Mysterious Affair at Styles". It comes by way not exactly of a detective duo, but close enough. This liberal dash of spice comes from, of all people, P. G. Wodehouse. Yes, Colonel Hastings has quite a bit of Bertie Wooster! His endless leisure, his haplessness with women, his confident foolishness, and his good natured energy. 

I think Poirot has a bit of Jeeves in him too, but then, I think that was true already in the books. And, interestingly, Poirot and Jeeves seem to be creations of roughly the same time, a bit over a hundred years ago, though if anyone must be credited, which I don't think the comparison is close enough for, Jeeves came first.

I'm pretty sure I recall that in Christie's Poirot canon, Hastings fades away from the stories fairly early on. But seeing this vastly improved Hastings three seasons in, I am hoping he will always be a fixture. He is a delight!

Still, I wouldn't name a cat after him.