Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters/People edit see section history

• Hercule Poirot: Hercule Poirot is a Belgian retired detective well-known for his skills who is called in to solve a murder.
• Simeon Lee: A very wealthy man who loved revenge; he also loved his affairs, many of which produced illegitimate children aside from his four sons and one daughter.
• Pilar Estravados: The granddaughter of Simeon, her mother and father are dead and she travels alone as she looks forward to a traditional English Christmas with her extended family.
• Stephen Farr: The son of Simeon's old one-time partner, he misses the colors of Africa when he comes to bland England for Christmas.
• Alfred Lee: An excessively devoted son, he and his wife live with his ornery father.
• Lydia Lee: Alfred's wife, she barely tolerates Simeon but does so for the sake of her husband.
• David Lee: Alfred's brother.
• George Lee: Alfred's brother.
• Magdalene: George's wife.
• Horbury: A devoted manservant who, nevertheless, arouses much suspicion.
• Tressilian: The Lee's family butler, Tressilian has been with them for a very long time.
• Colonel Johnson: The Chief Constable of Middleshire.
• Superintendent Sugden: Superintendent Sugden arrives promptly to the scene of the crime, where he becomes the Chief Investigator.

Quotes edit see section history

• “He was not a boy - to the turned this way and that by the whim of the moment”

• “Cruel and greedy - like the mouth of a child or a kitten - a mouth that only knew of its own desired and hadn't learnt yet to pity”

• “A delicious voice. It has the sun in it ... It is warm like a summer night ..."”

• “Perhaps. But sometimes a compulsion comes over one to speak the truth”

• “No, if one must have a murder (which Heaven forbid), give me a straightforward case. Something where there's no ambiguity about the cause of death.”

  Colonel Johnson

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• If you dam the stream of natural behaviour, mon ami, sooner or later the dam bursts and a cataclysm occurs!’

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• ‘I believe the present matters—not the past! The past must go. If we seek to keep the past alive, we end, I think, by distorting it. We see it in exaggerated terms—a false perspective.’

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• ‘The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small.

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• “Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” The words of Lady Macbeth.

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• ‘Take what you like and pay for it, says God.’

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• ‘Jolie mannequin, la petite. Mais elle a les yeux durs.’

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• ‘In conversation, points arise! If a human being converses much, it is impossible for him to avoid the truth!’

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• ‘Pilar—remember—nothing is so boring as devotion.’

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• You’re applying the judgment of a boy to those days instead of looking back on them with the more temperate outlook of a man.’

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• ‘Mon cher, everyone lies—in parts like the egg of the English curate. It is profitable to separate the harmless lies from the vital ones.’

  Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• England
• Gorston Hall, Longdale, Addlesfield: the Lee family's address.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Appointment with Death, and followed by Sad Cypress.

Preceded by Death Comes As the End, and followed by Curtain.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Agatha Christie (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. A.E.C. Vuerhard-Berkhout (Translator) - Dutch translation of 'Murder for Christmas/Hercule Poirot's Christmas/A Holiday for Murder'

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 823.912

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Authors, A-Z › ( C ) › Christie, Agatha
• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Mystery › Hard-Boiled
• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Mystery › British Detectives
• Books › Literature & Fiction

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Agatha Christie's Poirot (IMDb): British crime drama, season 6, episode 1