Hercule Poirot available to solve mysteries at an English country house. At the time of Christie's writing, it was considered patriotic to express sympathy towards the Belgians, since the invasion of their country had constituted Britain's "casus belli" for entering World War I, and British wartime propaganda emphasised the "Rape of Belgium". Poirot first appeared in "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (published in 1920) and exited in "Curtain" (published in 1975). Following the latter, Poirot was the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of "The New York Times". By 1930, Agatha Christie found Poirot "insufferable", and, by
Recurring characters in the Hercule Poirot stories is called "Johnny". The 2002 ITV adaptation of "Sparkling Cyanide" featured Oliver Ford Davies as "Colonel Geoffrey Reece". Countess Vera Rossakoff is the only woman with whom Hercule Poirot has ever admitted to being in love. The countess' true name is a mystery. She appears in only one novel, "The Big Four", and two short stories, "The Double Clue" and "The Capture of Cerberus" ("The Labours of Hercules" series). Recurring characters in the Hercule Poirot stories This page details the other fictional characters created by Agatha Christie in her stories about the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Hastings first meets Poirot