316 pages
French language
Published Aug. 6, 1996 by Librairie des Champs-Élysées.
The Labours of Hercules is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1947. It features Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and gives an account of twelve cases with which he intends to close his career as a private detective. His regular sidekicks (his secretary, Miss Lemon, and valet, George/Georges) make cameo appearances, as does Chief Inspector Japp. The stories were all first published in periodicals between 1939 and 1947. In the Foreword to the volume, Poirot declares that he will carefully choose the cases to conform to the mythological sequence of the Twelve Labours of Hercules. In some cases (such as The Nemean Lion) the connection is a highly tenuous one, while in others the choice of case is more or less forced upon Poirot by circumstances. By the end, The Capture of Cerberus has events that correspond …
The Labours of Hercules is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1947. It features Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and gives an account of twelve cases with which he intends to close his career as a private detective. His regular sidekicks (his secretary, Miss Lemon, and valet, George/Georges) make cameo appearances, as does Chief Inspector Japp. The stories were all first published in periodicals between 1939 and 1947. In the Foreword to the volume, Poirot declares that he will carefully choose the cases to conform to the mythological sequence of the Twelve Labours of Hercules. In some cases (such as The Nemean Lion) the connection is a highly tenuous one, while in others the choice of case is more or less forced upon Poirot by circumstances. By the end, The Capture of Cerberus has events that correspond with the twelfth labour with almost self-satirical convenience. - Wikipedia.
I must say, as a Greek Mythology enthusiast, reading this book was amazingly fun for me. I love seeing all of the references to the different stories. I would definitely recommend brushing up on your Hercules 12 labors before you read. You should be able to understand it without knowing the stories, but you'll love seeing all of the references.
Je dois l'avouer : j'ai dévoré les romans d'Agatha Christie quand j'étais adolescent et mon détective préféré de la Reine du Crime a toujours été l'excentrique Hercule Poirot. Je garde cependant peu de souvenirs de ce livre qui lui est consacré.
This is an interesting read of 12 short story mysteries. Each story starts of with a basics premise of someone asking for help. Hercule Poirot gathers the barest of clues. There is a little downtown where the other characters and the readers are left to sort out the solution. Finally, there is a big reveal. Overall it is a good collection to keep you guessing about the solution at a pace of 1 story a day.
