The Labours of Hercules

by Agatha Christie

Volume 46 in the Agatha Christie Collection (1947) Limited edition of 800 copies worldwide In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet -- reasoned the detective -- like Hercules he had been responsible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters. So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot made up his mind to accept just twelve more cases: his self-imposed 'Labours'. Each would go down in the annals of crime as a heroic feat of deduction.

• ISBN10: 0708901190
• ISBN13: 9780708901199
• Publish Date: April 1978 (first published 14 August 1967)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 17 October 2009
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: F A Thorpe (Publishers)
• Imprint: Ulverscroft Large Print Books Ltd
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 467
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cameron Trost]

Hercule Poirot, in all his pompousness, decides to retire after solving twelve mysteries that resemble the mythical labours of his Greek namesake - mais biensûr, mon ami! This is a spectacular collection, and I think it's probably Christie's best. The theme is outlandish and the stories are somewhat contrived, but that's the whole point, isn't it? Agatha Christie has given us twelve rollicking tales of mystery and adventure in which the reader has to pit his wits (not his muscles) against Hercules. Another legendary hero also gets a mention or two; yes, Sherlock Holmes! And rightly so, because these tales are quite possibly only second to those of Christie's greatest influence.