Ranking Agatha Christie Poirot Books
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- Опубліковано 6 сер 2024
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Thank you for watching,
Lil.
As you probably know, The Big Four was hobbled together out of short stories into a full-length novel. In 1936, Agatha Christie’s beloved mom died, and later Archibald Christie asked for a divorce. Now a professional writer, she owed a novel to her publishers. Her brother-in-law suggested making a novel (The Big 4) out of several short stories as well as expanding a previous short story into The Mystery of the Blue Train. She was thankful for his help during her writer’s block, but admitted they were not up to her exacting standards.
I have a lot of fun reading The Big Four. It´s a little cartoonish, a little James Bond, and never boring.
This explains why I always thought Blue Train was a bit long and boring, it was quite literally stretched
I would love a Miss Marple one! Have you read all of Christie’s book? She one of my absolutely favorite authors. Could you do like a top 5- funniest, slowest, quickest, scariest, best adaptations, most odd? I would love to know!
Yes, I have read all of her books! I will do a video ranking the Miss Marple books too!! and those other ideas sound great too
I’m curious, how many books are there? I want to one day say I’ve read all of Agatha Christie books as well 🤍
Yes, I vote for this one too. Definitely need a Miss Marple.
And the stand alones are good too can you do a video of them
I always enjoy videos about Poirot. The problem is I was done with the overwhelming majority of her books by the age of 21. The bulk of her books I read in my teens. Now I am well in my 40s (sigh), I don't remember a lot, although I can certainly name the top 2, because they are in my overall top 3.
2. Death on The Nile: I read it when I was already very familiar with her , so I guessed the who, but I couldn't figure out the how despite thinking so much about it.
1. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: Sheer brilliance. My first ever mystery book, and still my all time top one (by any author). It was the reason I fell in love with mystery books. I will never forget that moment of Oh! My! GOD! (I started re-reading it straight away). That sensation was priceless.
I have to tell you that I have been watching your back catalog of vids and I really can't get enough! You have inspired me to completely empty my bank account of every cent and spend it all on Agatha Christie books LoooL! Thank you for helping me re-discover so much from way back when.
haha! whoopsie! thank you and glad you are enjoying my videos
I love watching Agatha Christie rankings, it’s so interesting to see how people’s lists differ from mine. For example, one of my all time favourites is evil under the sun whereas the hollow and the mystery of the blue train are two of my least favourites even though like you said, if it’s a poirot novel it is one of my favourite books haha!
I’d definitely like a miss marple ranking!
I will defo do a Miss Marple one!! Thanks for letting me know which ones you love and don't. It's always so interesting
Nice list, and Ive started my very first Christie book this week... the Styles book... and, so far so good! - Looking forward to reading more.
Yes!!! So happy. You ranked Five Little Pigs #1. This is an undervalued masterpiece. I have spent the past three years reading all of Christie's crime novels and short story collections in UK publication order. I am currently reading #71 Passenger to Frankfurt (which is, imho, much better than most claim) and I have Five Little Pigs ranked (overall) at #2, only behind And Then There Were None. Five Little Pigs deserves a major movie. Let's start a petition.))
Nice video! I think of the ones I've read so far (about half in order), my ratings track pretty closely with yours. Maybe a few that would be bumped up or down a rung, but surprisingly no complete discrepancies! I'm glad Sad Cypress and Peril at End House both made it up there for you, I enjoyed both of those a lot although I guess those two get mixed reviews. And glad to see quite a few left on your top tiers that I haven't read yet too!
A joy to watch! Thank you Lil for the lovely video 👌🏽
Glad you enjoyed it!
You honestly own the cozy classics area of youtube 🙌 so knowledgeable.
Aww thank you!!
Laughed out loud when you described Cat Among the Pigeons as "some teachers start to get bumped off and it's really good." Great ranking! I agree with most of your five stars, apart from Elephants Can Remember, which is probably my least favourite of all, I remember it took me ages to read and left me bored, I must reread it at some point to see if I like it better now. Five Little Pigs is my absolute favourite too!
My favorite that blew me away are Five Little Pigs and Murde ron the Orient Express. I also loveMrs. Mcguinty's dead. thanks for this video. makes me want to read all of them again!
Curtain! My fav! I’ve probably read like 20 of them but I can’t remember 5 little pigs,I’m gonna order it! Nice video!!!
Awesome video! Really enjoyed it! Back in the day I read quite a few Christie books and my favorites were the murder of roger ackroyd (only a 4star???)abc murders and curtain was my absolute fav! but I got out of reading.I’ve also watched a ton of the movies. It makes it harder to remember which books I’ve read cause I get them mixed up with what movies I’ve seen. I decided to start reading the books again,that’s why I watched this video and since five little pigs was your#1 and since I don’t think I’ve read it (may have seen the movie) I went to my local library and got my first ever library card and took out 5 little pigs.It was really good,I really enjoyed it. For my next book I either want something with Hastings or one of the new poirot’s with the other author,have you read those? Are they good?
Thanks for a nice and interesting presentation of Agatha Christie's Poirot novels. Among the things I like about Agatha Christie is her characterization. Newspaper reviews at the time of her writing her books said that what made her books stand out among other crime fiction was indeed her characterization. Something for which she is much underrated by many these days it seems. Her plots are always great, so my list of favorites will be the books that have left the strongest lasting impression on me.
Here are my top 13 Poirot novels:
1. Hercule Poirot's Christmas - and one reason I put this on top is the character of the murder victim, Simeon Lee. He was hard, brutal, but also generous and liberal minded, and unconventional. He was with reason disappointed, to the degree of exasperation, in his useless whimpering sons. He had his flaws, no doubt. He took his frustration out on his family in a less than pleasant manner. But I sympathize with him, there is a poignant touch to this book that I really like. (The TV movie destroyed it by making the murder victim all bad.)
2. Curtain Poirot's Last Case - the psychology of the murderer is, among a lot of other factors, what puts this book among her absolute best. (The TV movie destroyed the character of Poirot completely.)
3. Five Little Pigs - overall her best book when everything is considered, characterization, plot and presentation. (And the TV movie destroyed it).
4. Murder on the Orient Express - a very poignant human drama. (And did I mention the TV movie destroyed it?)
5. Elephants Can Remember - in addition to being a crime story it is a very deep felt, tragic love story, with profound characterization, and Poirot at his most sublime. (The TV movie destroyed it. No understanding whatsoever for the finer psychological points of the story, and stupid sub plots added, and that by a script writer who has claimed he can better Agatha Christie psychology wise - what crap.)
6. Death on the Nile - a master piece in every respect. (And yes, the TV movie destroyed it.)
7. The Murder of Roger Acroyd - does not need any further presentation. (The TV movie was - well - good actually, despite the made-up action sequence towards the end.)
8. Sad Cypress - another one leaving a strong impression, especially the character of Elinor Carlisle. (And the TV movie did NOT destroy it.)
9. The Hollow - another novel with Poirot at his greatest. (The TV movie didn't destroy it, but it did not manage to fully capture the depth of the novel.)
10. Dead Man's Folly - excellent. (And the TV movie destroyed it completely, the ending was obnoxious, and completely contradictory to the novel's ending. The list on how this movie's 'Poirot' contradicts absolutely Agatha Christie's Poirot is endless.)
11. Peril At End House - superb ending. (And the TV movie was quite good).
12. Mrs. McGinty's Dead - great, and unusually dark. (I don't remember much of the TV movie)
13. Cards on the Table - superb plot and drama. (The TV movie changed, and destroyed, the ending completely.)
Ok, I'd better stop here, but I find at least half a dozen other Poirot novels great and most of the rest good. Other good TV movies include 'Styles', 'The ABC Murders', 'Dumb Witness' (although being dramatized quite a bit), 'Murder on the Links', 'Lord Edgeware Dies', 'After the Funeral', 'Third Girl' (despite the changing of Frances' identity which was not good) and 'The Clocks'.
You are my favorite person to hear talk about Agatha Christie so I love these videos! For me, I think my favorites are first and foremost Murder on the Orient Express, followed by Five Little Pigs, then ABC Murders and Labours of Hercules, Murder on the Links and probably the Hollow and Dumb Witness and Hercule Poirot's Christmas fit in there somewhere too. I THINK After the Funeral will end up as my second favorite if it is anything like the adaptation.
aww thank you!! and thank you for your list!! I really enjoyed hearing your faves
@@lilsvintageworld I was so glad when I finally got to Five Little Pigs because it was every bit as good as you said 😆❤️📘.
Anyone with a heart knows that the best Poirot stories are all he ones with that center around a dog named "Bob."
I jumped on to Goodreads to see how many Poirots I have read and to my surprise, it was only 14! 😲 Needless to say, I need to up my game! One of my least favorites is probably Mystery of the Blue Train (but, like you said, I love it because it's Christie - just not one of my favorites).Standouts for me are: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Death on the Nile (love the 1978 movie, too), Murder on the Orient Express, Hallowe'en Party, Dead Man's Folly _or_ Cards on the Table and Evil Under the Sun (but that could be because I adore the 1982 movie version...Dame Maggie Smith is just delicious in it!)
I never found sad cypress or Mrs mcginty is dead or lord edgware dies in any ranking of Agatha christie books . But these are my favourites . Thank you .
Based on the ones I've currently read of Poirot:
Least favourite 3 are The Big Four, Third Girl and possibly Halloween Party, but it's hard to pick a third. The Big Four is the only Poirot I've given 2 stars
Top 5 are Cards on the Table, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Death on the Nile, Death in the Clouds and Cat Among the Pigeons, Five Little Pigs is probably number 6! Love it
Agree! Didn’t love Clocks at all, or Elephants, though. but The Hollow is amazing.
Love your video! My least favourites are one: two buckle my shoe, Mrs Mcgintys dead and Murder in Mesopotamia. But I love Evil under the sun🌞 and Hercule poirots christma🎄😁tastes can be different yes. My other top books: Death on the nile, Murder on the orient express, ABC murders, Mysterious affair styles, Dead man's folly and Murder at the links .
I am a purist and have to put Orient Express and Death on the Nile in my top two! Great video!!
Brilliant! Thank you 😊
Man! Your list is soooo different to mine!
My least favourite is 5 little pigs!
Id have to say Cards on the table or Christmas is the best.
Just finished reading '5 little pigs' after seeing your video. Havent read a Christie novel for years. I loved it. Finished it in less then 2 days, which is fast, believe me. Im one of those kindle people, so I've download 'sad cypress' to read next. Keep up the good work.
That’s wonderful to hear
My next A.C Poirot book will be Death on the Nile 🙌🏻 I am excited!
Thank you for this video Lil 🤍
Ooo that’s a good one!! Enjoy!! Just in time for the new film!
Among the list, I agree with your comment on The Clocks. I enjoy the story at the beginning, but I don't know, the resolution is just not as amazing as other Poirot's stories.
Anyway, I really like your Agatha Christie's review. Looking forward to seeing your Ms. Marple's list (and probably other other Christie's stories).
And really love your opinion on McGinty's dead (this is the first Agatha Christie's book I bought) 🌟
Thank you
I haven't read all the Poirots yet (although I've seen all the David Suchet adaptations and I completely agree with you about Taken at the Flood). I wouldn't be able to rank those I've read but my favorites are Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, Mrs McGinty's dead and After the Funeral.
Thank you for your favourites list, really interesting to hear what people enjoy
The ones I don't Like
8.Third girl
7.After the Funeral
6.The Big Four
The Ones i do LOVE!
5.Sad Cypress
4.The ABC murders
3.Five little pigs
2.The Hollow (I have no idea why I adore this Book so much)
1.Dead man's folly (Love the TV adaptation,Love the Book,Love the ending)
Great Video! I have only recently started reading Agatha's books. So far I have read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Death on the Nile (my fav so far), Hickory Dickory Dock and I am slowly making my way through the 50 short Poirot stories. What are your favourite short stories with Poirot? I have also just purchased my first Miss Marple book - A murder is announced and cant wait to read it :)
I could do a similar videos ranking the Poirot short stories if that would be of interest?
Oh yes please! it would be great to know which ones you liked the most :)
You made me excited to get five little pigs
Will read it!
You have made me want to reread the Poirot books yet again
I am happy to match on your top two. They are the best!! But for somw reason, I have never enjoyed Ariadne Oliver and the books involving her (barring Cards on the table) Somehow.. I have found her too irritating and distracting.
My top 5 Poirot books would be
1. Five little pigs
2. Sad Cypress
3. ABC murders
4. Appointment with death
5. Mysterious affair at styles
And my least favorite 5:
1. Mystery of the blue train
2. Halloween party
3. Taken at the floods
4. Hickory dickory dock
5. The clocks
I would love to see your rating of the standalone Christie's.
By the way, have you read her Mary Westmacott novels? Are you able to rate them if so? I read one (dont remember which) and haven't been tempted to read more.
Thank you for your list, it was great to hear your faves and least faves. I think I will do a standalone ranking too in the future :) I run a little bookclub on the channel where we read the Wesmacott novels together if you would like to join in? So far we have read the first one.
Thanks so much for the video! Yes, I would love to hear your Miss Marple equivalent - that would be so interesting. 😁
I’ll take you up on that invitation: bottom three + top 5. I’ve not read all the Poirot novels yet; I have read 22 of them. Here is my ranking from those 22:
Bottom Three: (from worst to...less worse)
Hallowe’en Party - was NOT a fan of this when I read it. I got bored midway through and felt very removed from the ending as a result. Having said that, I have since seen the brilliant film with David Suchet...so maybe I would enjoy it more upon a reread.
The Mystery of the Blue Train - another one that I think I will enjoy more on a reread having seen the film. I don’t feel too guilty about this because Agatha Christie hated this one too; apparently, it was written predominantly for the purpose of funds. I LOVE the David Suchet film though! For whatever bizarre reason, the adaptation of this is my go-to-film for whenever I’m feeling ill...the mind works in mysterious ways. 😂
Mrs McGinty’s Dead (sorry!) - it was fine! Just not spectacular. (Have you seen the very loosely adapted Margaret Rutherford film version called “Murder Most Foul”? I love it, but some people quite understandably find it ridiculous 😂😂)
Top 5: (from 5th to 1st)
The Hollow - because I find John Christow really interesting;
Cards on the Table - because it’s a masterpiece! The tension, the humour, Ariadne...ah it’s perfect.
Lord Edgware Dies - very clever story;
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - need I say anything?
Murder on the Orient Express - my very first Agatha Christie, and one that I have reread more times than I can remember.
Thanks again so much for the video! 😊
Thanks so much for your list, it was lovely reading it!! Don't appologise for Mrs Mcguinty's dead, thats the beauty of Agatha Christie. There is a book out there for everyone. Yes, I Will defo do a Miss Marple version too!!
What are your thoughts concerning the upcoming Death on the Nile film and do you plan to watch it?
I will watch it as I like to watch all adaptations of her works. The trailor tbh I wasn't too impressed with but I will reserve judgement until I have seen the film.
great video, just a doubt quite irrelevant from the video, if someone could answer i be very grateful, why is the book sizes of those shown in video so big, i mean mine copies are around 280 pages , and the book mam is holding look around like 400+. i mean the difference in width, does on amazon they sell edited book ....... just asking, thankyou and for sure a good compilation of books, i will refer from here when i want to read another Mr. Poirot book.
There are two relatively similar more recent editions of the Agatha Christie oeuvre. The ones you have I believe are the same as mines which are published by William & Morrow and are the standard paperback editions, while the ones Lil has are the mass market editions published by Harper, which explains the size difference.
Why is there two titles for the same book, Lord Edgware Dies UK, and Thirteen at Dinner US?
They just have different titles across for some reason, they are the same book though
Both, masterpieces.
So, last night, I finished. It has taken me three years and one month to read all of Agatha Christie's crime novels and short story collections in UK publication order. I began with The Mysterious Affair at Styles and concluded with Postern of Fate (the last book she wrote before her death). Then: Poirot's Early Cases, Miss Marple's Final Cases, Problem at Pollensa Bay and While the Light Lasts. I thought it fitting to conclude my odyssey with Sleeping Murder and then to finish completely with Curtain. So, I began at Styles and ended at Styles. I have ranked all 80 books. The worst, in my humble opinion, is The Big Four. This book is so bad I do not believe it should have been published. I ranked And Then There Were None first. I truly believe this to be one of the best novels of the 20th century, it is that good. I shall not detain you, but there are two points I am anxious to make. First, I ranked Passenger to Frankfurt 59th. It is not Christie's worst book. It is her best spy novel, but it does have the worst ending of all her novels. Second, when oh when is either the BBC or ITV going to make a series of all the Mr. Quin stories (including the two from Pollensa Bay). These are forgotten gems and I (deservedly) ranked The Mysterious Mr. Quin 7th overall. Finally, another shout out to Five Little Pigs which remained (see my earlier comment) second until the end. Waiting for the movie.) Forgive my long post, but I hope it was interesting for you.
Thank you for this, I did indeed find this interesting and yay for five little pigs!!
My top 5:
Evil under the sun
Mesopotamia
5 lil pigs
Orient Express
End House
Top 5 (worst)
Murder on the links
Elephants can remember
The mistery of the blue train
Death on the clouds
One two buckle my shoe
Thank you for your list!
My absolute favourites are Cat Among the Pigeons and Elephants Can Remember.
awesome!
And Death on the Nile is missed or?
I agree with Murder in Mesopotamia. The ending is just disappointing
Five Little Pigs is good but sooo longwinded.
Halloween Party is for me absolutely three stars, one of the least favourites
By all means.... five little pigs.