Author: Agatha Christie
In this 8th Poirot short mystery, Hastings recounts a past case. Near the end of WWI, Poirot investigated the kidnapping of the English Prime Minister. Poirot had to work quickly. An important meeting of allied leaders was scheduled to begin in France, and the Prime Minister had to be there!
These first Poirot short stories were printed in magazines following the publication of Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. These magazines featured short fiction and articles from a variety of authors (and lots of advertising...just like today! ha ha), and were no doubt used to garner attention for Christie's writing and characters. It also explains why these initial short stories are brief and relatively simple. The marketing ploy worked famously.....Christie's writing gained popularity, garnering more sales for her subsequent novels and stories. These Poirot shorts can't be read with the same expectations as her novels and later short stories.They were not meant to be in-depth investigations or complex witty writing....they were pure marketing to get Christie's name and the character of Poirot exposed to an expanded readership. Authors do this today all the time -- free short stories offered online.....novelettes listed as Book 0 of a series......first short stories of a series offered free on Amazon......authors sending out short stories in their email newsletters......marketing! She churned all these stories out while on board a ship on a world tour for the British Empire Exposition. 10 months on a ship.....write short stories.....publish upon return....gain readership. Wonderful plan! Marketing strategies like this worked 100 years ago...and still work now. Although most stories aren't written while on a 10-month cruise around the world, but the idea is the same. Pull readers in....give them a taste.....then they buy the book. So, please read these short stories with that in mind -- they are short, simple and one-and-done on purpose. Christie obviously had top-notch advice from her publisher. Her career blossomed into one that has sold billions of books. Billions. Just amazing!
The language and social situations in these stories are from a bygone era. Written almost 100 years ago, these writings can require a bit of understanding of the early 1900s and World War I to make sense to today's readers. Luckily, the internet makes it so much easier to research names, events, places, war history, and other references in Christie's writing! And learning more about the war era and the 1920s can be as simple as watching a documentary or reading a book about the social norms of the time. I find myself led down some fascinating rabbit holes when I start looking up places and events Christie mentions in her writing. :) For those not interested in the history who just want to read the stories....just keep in mind that 100 years brings about a lot of changes. Enjoy the stories for what they are....a glimpse back in time! And interesting mysteries!
The long-running television show, Agatha Christie's Poirot, had an episode based on this short story (Series 2, episode 9).
On to the next story: The Million Dollar Bond Robbery!
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