It has only been recognized as a genre since 1900, though some writers have been writing in this genre for some years, such as Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The well-known crime fiction novelist Agatha Christie has strongly contributed to this genre from the time she began writing crime fiction novels, at the dawn of the Golden Age of Crime Fiction, at the beginning of the 1920s. Although the “Queen of Crime” has an incredible ability to think of brilliant plots, which deceive her readers at times, this essay will examine her two famous fictional detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.

The first detective to have made his way into an Agatha Christie novel or short story is the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. He appears in over 30 Christie novels and over 50 of her short stories, between 1920 and 1975. Some have thought that there were some similarities between Poirot and the fictional detective of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, whose mysteries were eagerly read by Christie as a young child.

For most of these novels and short stories, the author gives the readers a brief description of the detective. However, it is Poirot’s good friend, Captain Arthur Hastings, who has the privilege of giving the first description of the detective to the readers, in The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). Hastings says,

“Poirot was an extraordinary looking little man. He was hardly more than five feet, four inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible. I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound. Yet this quaint dandified little man who, I was sorry to see, now limped badly, had been in his time one of the most celebrated members of the Belgian police. As a detective, his flair had been extraordinary, and he had achieved triumphs by unraveling some of the most baffling cases of the day.” (Styles 19)

This description is a starting point for readers. But, with the help of each book and short story that stars Hercule Poirot, the readers are able to get a better impression of this fictional detective’s character, other than this description by Hastings. Poirot has dark black hair, which he begins to dye as he ages, and has green eyes. On several different occasions, his eyes are compared with the eyes of a cat when he has just thought of something, most often involving the case that he is working on. For example, in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Hasting explains that he “had often before noticed that, if anything excited him, his eyes turned green like cat’s.” (73)

There is very little said about Hercule Poirot’s background, which makes it difficult for the readers to come to a definite conclusion of his life before becoming an Agatha Christie character. One of the reasons that makes it harder to come to a conclusion is that some of the information given by Poirot about his background may at times be misleading or completely false. However, there are some information given, which may help the readers form some conjecture about his background.

Hercule Poirot was born in Spa, in Belgium. Based on conjecture and the details given by the author, he was probably born some time in the 1880s. On some occasions, he will have a conversation with someone entirely in French or use French expressions, such as “Monsieur”, “Madame” or “Eh bien”, while having a discussion with someone in a language other than French. We may then presume that Poirot is a French-speaking Belgian. He was a Catholic by birth and preserved this catholic morality later in his life.

He was brought up and taught by nuns. This fact may raise the likelihood that Poirot, along with any sibling he may have had, were orphaned and probably at a young age.

Later on in his life, he had the opportunity of working as a detective in the Belgian police force. Working as a detective would earn Poirot acknowledgement and fame for his ability to solve some puzzling cases, which Hastings describes in The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Poirot worked on cases, which were the reasons for this fame and acknowledgement. As his reputation grew, this detective grew accustom to being recognized by people and came to believe that everyone knew precisely who he was. There are some people who do recognize Poirot and other who don’t, especially in the generations younger than Poirot’s.

There are examples for people who do and don’t know Mr. Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (1934). The director of the train line, Mr. Bouc, does admit to Poirot that he knows of the detective’s reputation, which is probably why Mr. Bouc wants Poirot to investigate the murder that occurred on the Orient Express (55). However, when Poirot questions Mr. McQueen, the victim’s secretary, the detective presents himself as Hercule Poirot and as a detective, expecting McQueen to know exactly who he is. However, Poirot ends up being disappointed, when McQueen says that the name “Poirot” did seem familiar, but he thought that it was “a woman’s dressmaker.” (59)

Before escaping to England, just before World War I, he retired from the Belgian police force, presumably when he was thirty, and then worked as a private detective in Europe. When the First World War broke out, he moved to England, where he was able to continue working as a private detective.

Over the years that he worked as a detective, Poirot has been able to develop his own method of solving crimes. In The Mysterious Affair at Styles, when Agatha Christie first presents the Belgian detective, Poirot is presented more as a traditional and clue-based investigator, who relies a great deal on logic. However, in the second novel in which he appears, Murder in the Links (1923), Poirot is less of a “clue-based” detective and more of a psychological detective.

In Murder on the Orient Express, he explains to Doctor Constantine that, “See you, my dear doctor, me, I am not one to rely on expert procedure. It is the psychology I seek, not the fingerprint or the cigarette ash.” (73)

Being more of a psychological detective, Poirot’s method concentrates on getting people to talk to him and see the people’s behavior. In order to get people talking, one of his strategies is giving information about his background, which at times are misleading or false. It is for this reason that it is difficult to come to a definite conclusion about Poirot’s background. However, this strategy does come in handy in order to solve the crimes he is involved with.

At times, he may ask certain questions regarding the character of the victim or the murderer. By asking these questions, it helps Poirot to get a better idea of who the people involved are and come to the conclusion. He may even ask questions about some minor details, which the readers may find irrelevant, unimportant, or perhaps even silly. For example, in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, just after he has seen the study of Roger Ackroyd, where he was found dead, Poirot asks questions, such as how the curtains were placed or the exact position of the dagger that was used to kill Mr. Ackroyd (101- 104).

The last novel and final case in which Poirot appears is Curtains (1975), which was written several years earlier. By this time, Poirot is a very old man and is confined to his wheelchair. Nevertheless, this confinement doesn’t stop the great detective from solving one last mystery, before he is no more.

Agatha Christie’s other famous fictional detective, Miss Jane Marple, doesn’t have the appearance of a detective. However, it was only in 1930 that Christie created this spinsterly detective that would match Hercule Poirot’s popularity with the readers, ten years after the creation of the Belgian detective. Though Christie didn’t believe she would continue writing this character, after Murder at the Vicarage (1930), Jane Marple has had the opportunity of appearing in twelve novels and twenty short stories by the “Queen of Crime”, between 1930 and 1976.This crime fiction novelist has mentioned that her inspiration for the personality of Miss Marple was Dr. Sheppard’s sister, Caroline, in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926).

There is no question that both Jane Marple and Caroline Sheppard are similar to one another. However, similar to Hercule Poirot, not a lot of background of Miss Marple is given to the readers. It seems to be a choice made by the author. However, Agatha Christie does give her readers some information, which allows the readers to form some kind of conclusion about Miss Marple and her background.

Miss Marple is an elderly spinster, who has resided in St. Mary Mead her whole life. Mrs. Christie does give her readers an idea of the location of this village, but the indications are rather imprecise and confusing.

Jane Marple’s appearance may be described as a stereotypical spinster. She has blue eyes and white hair. She is a tall and thin woman, with a rosy and wrinkled face. Jane has been described as having a “gentle appealing manner” (Vicarage 18) and a “fragile appearance” (Vicarage 77). Despite the fact of having a “fragile appearance” and being delicate, Vicar Leonard Clement, the narrator of Murder at the Vicarage, mentions that Miss Marple has the ability “of holding her own with any policeman or chief constable in existence.” (77) This shows that people shouldn’t judge Jane Marple for her appearance, especially the police officers.

There are two of her family members that Miss Marple mentions. The first family member mentioned is her nephew, Raymond West, who is a modern poet. Raymond is wealthier than his aunt. It is perhaps for this reason that West is generous to his aunt, for which she is grateful for this generosity. In Murder at the Vicarage, Miss Marple mentions that Raymond was coming to visit her (164). She seems very happy that her nephew is coming to visit her.

The second family member mentioned is Miss Marple’s uncle Henry. Some occasions remind Miss Marple of something that her uncle Henry did or said. For example, in the short story Strange Jest, she says, “My uncle Henry, I remember, sent a favorite niece a five-pound note for a Christmas present. He put in it inside a Christmas card, gummed the card together, and wrote on it, “Love and best wishes. Afraid this is all I can manage this year.”” (Masterpieces 606) This anecdote was brought up, because one of the characters in this short story did something that reminded Jane of something that her uncle did.

Miss Marple is an intriguing kind of person. Perhaps like many other elderly ladies, she enjoys knitting, which is a frequent pastime and is present is the Jane Marple novels and short stories. Jane Marple also seems to enjoy activities, such as gossiping, gardening and bird watching.

With the help of her pleasure for gossip and her sense of observation, she is very well informed of everything that goes on in St. Mary Mead. Her garden can be described as a vantage point for her observation and gossip. For example, in Murder at the Vicarage, Miss Marple was in her garden and therefore was able to notice several characters’ movements, such as Anne Protheroe and Lawrence Redding, around the vicarage. (Chapter 9)

It seems that Jane Marple misses very little, especially when it may come in useful. She has an incredible sense of observation, which may be surprising from someone her age. However, she explains that her real “hobby is – and always has been – Human Nature.” (Vicarage 248) In the novels and short stories in which she appears, Jane Marple does reveal her avid curiosity for people.

In the same way as Poirot has his method for solving crimes, Jane Marple has her procedure for solving mysteries, but it is not as obvious as Poirot’s procedure. However, she mostly has the help of some of her features. First, Jane has her sense of observation, which comes in useful, because she can then notice some small details may help her solve the crimes she is involved with. Miss Marple is smarter than she may appear.

There is also her intelligence that helps her make connections between various details. There is also the fact that she is a curiosity for people. When she is having a discussion, it may happen that she may observe the people’s behavior, mostly the ones she has just met. She also does enjoy talking to people and meeting new people, as well. It also occurs that some situations remind her of other circumstances that has happened during her lifetime.

Many times, at the beginning of a case, Miss Marple may suggest something to the police officer involved in the investigation, who automatically ignores the advice. The police officers ignore her advice, because they believe that there is more to Jane Marple than simply her age and spinsterly appearance.

However, sooner or later, they will realize that she was right and will eventually come to her for advice. Yet, Jane Marple isn’t always liked by police officers, though it doesn’t seem to stop her from helping. In the short story The Case of the Perfect Maid, the author writes, “Inspector Slack did not like Miss Marple. But he was aware that the chief constable, Colonel Melchett, did not share this opinion.” (631)

Similar to her well-known Belgian detective, Agatha Christie wrote a final case for Miss Marple. It is entitled Sleeping Murder. It was published in 1976, but it was actually written in 1940.

It is possible for someone to have an idea of Christie’s mind, after examining the Anglo-American novelist’s life and written works. In The World of Agatha Christie, the author of this biography, Martin Fido, explains some of the characteristics that may be found after analyzing Christie’s works.

In this book, the author discusses some features of Christie’s mind that were found by Harvard scholar, Gillian McGill, a professor of women’s studies. The most dominant feature found and discuss is that Ms. McGill believed that Christie was a feminist. Though the crime fiction novelist didn’t mention or talk about the suffragettes, Fido explains that Christie “clearly felt they had sold they birthright of manipulative influence for the inferior pottage of political activism.” (103) Fido agrees with Ms McGill when she noticed “Agatha’s pleasure in hard-working young women who make their own way in the world” (103).

For those who know a little about her life and have read several of her novels, this is not very surprising of Agatha Christie, because she did seem like a hard-working woman, even at a young age. Most women of that time would be more concern on getting married and being supported by their husbands, but not Agatha Christie. Though she was married, it didn’t stop Christie from working hard, having a career and earning money.

However she may appear, Mrs. Agatha Christie “was a writer who deserved to survive because of her supreme professionalism.” (Fido 59) She has earned herself this right, along with her literary works and her well-known detectives. She truly merits her honor as a Dame of the British Empire and as the “Queen of Crime”.