Revisiting the Classics- Agatha Christie’s Curtain:Poirot’s Last Case
Nothing is so sad, in my opinion, as the devastation wrought by age. My poor friend. I have described him many times. Now to convey to you the difference. Crippled with arthritis, he propelled himself about in a wheel chair. His once plump frame has fallen in. He was a thin little man now. His face was lined and wrinkled. His moustache and his hair, it is true, were still of a jet black colour, but candidly, though I would not for the world have hurt his feelings by saying so to him, this was a mistake. There comes a moment when hair dye is only too painfully obvious….Only his eyes were the same as ever, shrewd and twinkling, and now- yes, undoubtedly- softened with emotion. ‘Ah, mon ami Hastings…Eh bien, my friend, there is work to be done.’ I stared at him with even more astonishment. For a moment I thought he was rambling. ‘You really mean that?’ “But certainly I mean it. For what other reason did I urge you to join me? My limbs, they are no longer active, but my brain, as I told you, is unimpaired. My rule, remember, has always been the same- sit back and think. That I still can do- in fact it is the only thing possible for me. For the more active side of the campaign, I shall have with me my invaluable Hastings.’
The little Belgian detective made his bow in Agatha Christie’s first detective story, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Styles is now a guest house and one of the guests is responsible for several murders. Revisiting Styles brings back memories for Poirot and his dear friend Hastings, and they find themselves solving one last mystery together. As part of HarperCollin’s celebration of 200 years of international publishing, HarperCollins India has come out with special hardback editions of twenty-five books by the ‘queen of mystery writing’, Agatha Christie.
Hercule Poirot lives on as one of the most impressive detectives in the history of crime-solving!
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