Editing Hercule Poirot (section)

=== Methods ===

In ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', Poirot operates as a fairly conventional, clue-based and logical detective; reflected in his vocabulary by two common phrases: his use of "[[Grey matter|the little grey cells]]" and "order and method". Hastings is irritated by the fact that Poirot sometimes conceals important details of his plans, as in ''The Big Four''.{{sfn|Christie|2004b}} In this novel, Hastings is kept in the dark throughout the climax. This aspect of Poirot is less evident in the later novels, partly because there is rarely a narrator to mislead.

In ''Murder on the Links,'' still largely dependent on clues himself, Poirot mocks a rival "bloodhound" detective who focuses on the traditional trail of clues established in detective fiction (e.g., Sherlock Holmes depending on [[footprints]], [[fingerprint]]s, and cigar ash). From this point on, Poirot establishes his psychological bona fides. Rather than painstakingly examining crime scenes, he enquires into the nature of the victim or the psychology of the murderer. He predicates his actions in the later novels on his underlying assumption that particular crimes are committed by particular types of people.

Poirot focuses on getting people to talk. In the early novels, he casts himself in the role of "Papa Poirot", a benign confessor, especially to young women. In later works, Christie made a point of having Poirot supply false or misleading information about himself or his background to assist him in obtaining information.<ref>"It has been said of Hercule Poirot by some of his friends and associates, at moments when he has maddened them most, that he prefers lies to truth and will go out of his way to gain his ends by elaborate false statements, rather than trust to the simple truth." {{harvnb|Christie|2011a|loc= Book One, Chapter 9}}</ref> In ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', Poirot speaks of a non-existent mentally disabled nephew<ref>E.g. "After a careful study of the goods displayed in the window, Poirot entered and represented himself as desirous of purchasing a rucksack for a hypothetical nephew." ''Hickory Dickory Dock'', Chapter 13</ref> to uncover information about homes for the mentally unfit. In ''Dumb Witness'', Poirot invents an elderly invalid mother as a pretence to investigate local nurses. In ''The Big Four'', Poirot pretends to have (and poses as) an identical twin brother named Achille: however, this brother was mentioned again in ''The Labours of Hercules''.{{sfn|Christie|2004b}}

<blockquote>"If I remember rightly – though my memory isn't what it was – you also had a brother called Achille, did you not?" Poirot's mind raced back over the details of Achille Poirot's career. Had all that really happened? "Only for a short space of time," he replied.{{sfn|Christie|1947|p=}}</blockquote>

Poirot is also willing to appear more foreign or vain in an effort to make people underestimate him. He admits as much:

<blockquote>It is true that I can speak the exact, the idiomatic English. But, my friend, to speak the broken English is an enormous asset. It leads people to despise you. They say – a foreigner – he can't even speak English properly. ... Also I boast! An Englishman he says often, "A fellow who thinks as much of himself as that cannot be worth much." ... And so, you see, I put people off their guard.{{sfn|Christie|2006b|loc=final chapter}}</blockquote>

He also has a tendency to [[Illeism|refer to himself in the third person]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/jul/28/agatha-christie-poirot-box-set | title = Your next box set: Agatha Christie's Poirot | work = The Guardian | last = Saner | first = Emine | date=2011-07-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10431162/Poirot-The-Labours-of-Hercules-ITV-review.html | title = Poirot: The Labours of Hercules, ITV, review| work = The Telegraph | last = Pettie | first = Andrew | date=2013-11-06}}</ref>

In later novels, Christie often uses the word ''mountebank'' when characters describe Poirot, showing that he has successfully passed himself off as a [[charlatan]] or fraud.

Poirot's investigating techniques assist him solving cases; "For in the long run, either through a lie, or through truth, people were bound to give themselves away..."{{sfn|Christie|2005|loc=Chapter 18}} At the end, Poirot usually reveals his description of the sequence of events and his deductions to a room of suspects, often leading to the culprit's apprehension.