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"One does not practice detection with a textbook! One uses one's natural intelligence." -Hercule Poirot, Sad Cypress, p. 166
The Sum of It:
We begin this week's first book, Sad Cypress, in the company engaged-to-be-married cousins (#cousinlove #ohlala) Elinor Carlisle and Roddy Welman. The pair is slightly distressed because they have received an anonymous letter indicating a mysterious someone is nosing their way into their very sick aunt's favor. As it is likely that their aunt will die soon, they should be, the letter says, a bit concerned about the large inheritance they will inherit from said ill aunt. Elinor and Roddy don't really think much of the letter, but decide they should pay a visit to Aunt Laura anyway. Off they go, and find a house full of nurses and doctors and housekeepers and a childhood friend of theirs, Mary Gerard, who is all grown up now and has become very attractive. Roddy, not necessarily being Britain's best and brightest to begin with, turns into a complete goob, becomes entranced by lovely Mary, and basically forgets he has a cousin fiancee at all. Elinor tries to push aside the drama of brazenly unfaithful Roddy and focus on dying Aunt Laura who does, in fact, die like right away, but does so WITHOUT A WILL. So Elinor inherits all, but wins the award for Being the Bigger Person, and agrees to give fiancee-thief Mary Gerard a chunk of cash because Aunt Laura liked her so much. Elinor and Roddy break up and Elinor decides to clean out Aunt Laura's house and have one last quick tea party of fish paste sandwiches with Mary Gerard and one of her Aunt's former nurses, Nurse Hopkins. At the end of the tea party, who turns up dead? MARY GERARD! Since they all ate the same things at #deadlyteaparty, the police surmise that Elinor must have, in a jealous rage, secretly put poison in Mary's favorite sandwich paste, ensuring her demise.
Everyone assumes that Elinor is super guilty, except darling Dr. Peter Lord, who has a tiny bit of a crush on Elinor and enlists the help of Hercule Poirot to find the truth! Note, as Poirot tells Dr. Lord to on several occasions, that might mean confirming Elinor's guilt. Poirot embarks on his usual Interview Tour of all those involved, and does in fact, find the truth. The book is in three parts, the first all the events surrounding Aunt Laura and Mary Gerard's deaths, the second part focusing on Poirot's investigation, and the third is from the perspective of Elinor Carlisle during her trial for murder. The third part is particularly interesting, because it is another instance (like Witness for the Prosecution) where Agatha shows her compelling skillz for courtroom drama!
Agatha is said to have thought this book would have been better without Poirot. I highly disagree. I enjoyed this book immensely, and it made complete sense to have Poirot as the investigating mind to prove Elinor Carlisle guilty or not guilty, because this is just the kind of case he would enjoy solving.
The YOA Treatment:
One of the side Agatha Christie books we are reading this year is Poirot and Me by David Suchet. I highly recommend this book for any Agatha lovers (particularly those who enjoy the television adaptations as well!) because David Suchet gives such delightful insight into the process of becoming an on-screen Poirot for nearly 25 years. One particular story stood out to me from his memories in his chapter about filming Sad Cypress. Suchet talks about visiting a local hospice while filming and visiting many of the elderly residents in costume (and character!) of Poirot, most of whom were huge Poirot fans! (#preciousmoment #GodblessDavidSuchet) Suchet was still getting used to being famous for being Poirot, but his iconic-ness didn't totally hit him until a moment that happened around the same time. He was on the Tube in London and a nun came hurrying up to him, yelling "It's Poirot!" He was slightly mortified at first, but the nun went on. I'll let him tell the rest:
The nun explained to me that she had just 'come out of silence' and could not wait to express her joy at seeing me. She then went on to tell the entire carriage, pretty much at the top of her voice, that she and the other nuns at her convent liked to watch Poirot after dark on Sunday evenings, even though the rules of the convent did not really allow them to do so.
'It is one of our forbidden secrets,' she chortled, with a broad smile on her face. 'It is quite wonderful.'
...Looking back, it serves to remind me just how lucky I am to have so many different kinds of fans around the world, all of whom seemed thrilled by Poirot.
Thrilled by Poirot! We couldn't agree more.
-A.
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