Agatha Christie – Black Cofee, With Hercule Poirot and Arthur hastings
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"Black Cofee" was originally a three-act play written by Agatha Christie in 1930. It was the first work that Agatha Christie wrote for the stage. "Black Cofee" went on to become a theater favorite. Twenty two years after Agatha Christie’s death, "Black Cofee" was adapted into a novel by Charles Osborne, a renowned theater and opera critic and Agatha Christie biographer.
The lead character in "Black Cofee" is well-known physicist Sir Claud Armory, who lives in a beautiful home in the English countryside, about 25 miles from London. The scientist has been working on a valuable new atomic formula to be used in England’s defense in the World War. He begins to suspect that someone in his family is trying to steal it.
This mysterious formula can be used in the making of a bomb that could cause untold devastation. When the powerful formula is actually stolen, Armory gathers all members of his large household in the library with the door locked, and summons Detective Hercule Poirot and Captain Arthur Hastings to his estate to find out who the culprit might be. Before they can arrive, however, Sir Claud Armory is murdered by someone who poisons his cofee. Poirot and Hastings must now discover who stole the formula and tainted Armory’s cofee, thus murdering him.
Hercule Poirot was, of course, the diminutive lead detective in many of Agatha Christie’s television episodes and short stories, including "Black Cofee." Poirot’s ability to solve crimes was dependent largely upon logic, method, and his skill in getting characters to talk to him. Agatha Christie described Poirot as having dark hair, a mustache, and green eyes that were almost luminous when he had a brilliant idea or observation. The detective was fond of patent leather shoes and was known to have a somewhat sensitive stomach. Poirot practiced punctuality, and he carried a turnip pocket watch throughout his career.
Arthur Hastings was once an Army officer who met Poirot during the years he spent as a private detective in Europe. Agatha Christie created Arthur Hastings so that he resembled Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick, Dr. Watson. Neither the auburn-haired Hastings nor Watson were quick to realize the importance of clues, and both narrated in the first person. Hastings met and married a woman named Dulcie, and together they had four children.
Although Poirot didn’t consider Hastings to be very intelligent, and sometimes teased him for being dim-witted, Poirot did find Hastings to be helpful and instrumental in solving some cases. Poirot and Hastings became lifelong friends.
"Black Cofee" is what Agatha Christie herself called a "conventional spy thriller." The following excerpt takes place at the beginning of the novel:
"…and so I took the liberty, sir, of promising that you would return the call this morning,’ George was saying.
‘I do beg your pardon, my dear George,’ replied Poirot. ‘My attention was wandering. Someone has telephoned, you say?’
‘Yes, sir. It was last night, sir, while you were out at the theatre with Mrs Oliver. I had retired to bed before you arrived home, and thought it unnecessary to leave a message for you at that late hour.’
‘Who was it who called?’
‘The gentleman said he was Sir Claud Amory, sir. He left his telephone number, which would appear to be somewhere in Surrey. The matter, he said, was a somewhat delicate one, and when you rang you were not to give your name to anyone else, but were to insist on speaking to Sir Claud himself.’
There are many suspects in Agatha Christie’s "Black Cofee," any one of whom would have the motivation to steal Sir Claud’s invention and to kill him. It turns out that Sir Claud Armory wasn’t a very nice man and the household was pleased to have him gone. So, "who done it?" Who was Agatha Christie’s villain? Was it a family member, one of the servants, or a house guest? It is left to Hastings and Poirot to find out. One thing is certain: the reader will be kept in suspense until the very end of "Black Cofee."