Agatha Christie's Detectives
Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, the Beresfords, and More
Agatha Christie's mystery books feature clever plots, interesting locations, and such popular detectives as Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Part of Christie’s genius was in creating so many memorable detectives who take quite different approaches to solving crime.
Hercule Poirot
The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot was featured in thirty-four novels, from The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) to Curtain (1975), and numerous short stories. He used his “little grey cells” and keen powers of observation and deduction to solve crimes that baffled police. He was often helped in his cases by Captain Arthur Hastings, his somewhat dim friend, Ariadne Oliver, the mystery novelist, and Chief Inspector James Japp of Scotland Yard, who couldn’t help being a tad jealous that Poirot solved the crime before he did.
Miss Marple
Miss Jane Marple was on the one hand a stereotypical old spinster, knitting and gossiping in her little village of St. Mary Mead, and on the other hand a keen observer of human nature who solved crimes based on her knowledge of human behavior. Agatha Christie’s second most-popular detective was featured in twelve novels, from Murder at the Vicarage (1930) to Sleeping Murder (1976), and several short stories.
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Christie’s spy duo, were featured in four novels and one collection of short stories, from The Secret Adversary (1922) to Postern of Fate (1974). While working for the British Secret Service these detectives solved murders and thwarted international espionage.
Parker Pyne
Mr. Parker Pyne is a detective who specializes in personal matters. He finds out why his client is unhappy, and solves the problem through some elaborate scheme, often involving one of his disguised accomplices. His specialty is romantic and personal problems, although his later cases involved actual crimes such as theft and murder. He was featured in the short story collection Parker Pyne Investigates (1934), and in two tales in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939).
Harley Quinn and Mr. Satterthwaite
The mysterious detective Harley Quinn often takes on the characteristics of a harlequin of the commedia dell’arte: he comes and goes unexpectedly and a trick of the light often causes his clothes to appear multicolored. His purpose is to push his friend, the cultured bachelor Mr. Satterthwaite, to collect clues and do the actual legwork in crime-solving, and with a few pointed questions and keen observations prods Satterthwaite to solve the crime. This unconventional detective duo solves crimes in short stories published in The Mysterious Mr. Quinn (1930) and in one story in The Mousetrap and Other Stories (1950). Mr. Satterthwaite makes a couple of solo appearances in Three Act Tragedy (1935) and “Dead Man’s Mirror” in Murder in the Mews (1937).
Agatha Christie's Ingenious Detectives
Agatha Christie was skilled at creating interesting detectives who solved mysteries in varied and ingenious ways. Her most famous detectives are the Belgian Hercule Poirot, the spinster Miss Marple, and the married Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, but she also created such memorable detectives as Parker Pyne, Harley Quinn, and Mr. Satterthwaite, as well as some others who only showed up in one or two stories. Her genious for creating different kinds of detectives allowed her to write different kinds of mystery books, which fans of the genre still enjoy.
Agatha Christie's Detectives Solved Many Crimes
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