Hercule Poirot's Christmas

First published in 1938, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Christmas is a classic country house mystery, a subgenre of detective fiction. The plot centers on the wealthy and tyrannical Simeon Lee, who summons his estranged family to his estate for a Christmas reunion. The gathering is rife with tension, culminating in Simeon’s brutal murder in his locked room on Christmas Eve. Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the area, is called upon to unravel the seemingly impossible crime, which is rooted in themes of The Corrupting Influence of Wealth and Greed, The Inescapable Burdens of the Past, and The Fragility of Identity and the Performance of Self.

Christie, known as the “Queen of Crime,” was one of the defining authors of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction during the 1920s and 1930s. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1971 for her contributions to literature. In the foreword to Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, she reveals that the novel was a direct response to her brother-in-law’s complaint that her murders had become “too refined.” The resulting story is uncharacteristically graphic, featuring a bloody and violent crime scene that reflects the savage emotions festering within the dysfunctional Lee family. The novel was adapted for television in 1994 as a special episode of the popular series Agatha Christie’s Poirot, starring David Suchet.

This guide refers to the 2021 William Morrow Paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of bullying, emotional abuse, illness, mental illness, graphic violence, wartime violence, death by suicide, and death. 

Language Note: The source text uses terms to describe mental illness that are now considered offensive. This language is not reproduced in the guide.

Plot Summary

Three days before Christmas, Stephen Farr, recently arrived from South Africa, travels by train from London to the English Midlands. He is immediately captivated by a fellow passenger, a young Spanish woman named Pilar Estravados. They strike up a conversation, and Stephen learns she is on her way to Gorston Hall to meet her English relatives for the first time. He is stunned to see that her destination is the same as his own.

At Gorston Hall, the wealthy and sickly Simeon Lee has forced his family into a Christmas reunion. His dutiful eldest son, Alfred, and Alfred’s wife, Lydia, discuss the arrangement. Lydia voices her contempt for her father-in-law, whom she believes is a malicious bully. Simeon’s attendant, Horbury, announces that two more unexpected guests are due to arrive, a surprise Simeon has arranged for his own amusement. 

Elsewhere, Simeon’s other children receive their invitations. David, an artist, is deeply reluctant to return to Gorston Hall because he blames his mother’s death on Simeon’s infidelity and hasn’t seen his father in 20 years. His wife, Hilda, convinces him to go to confront his past. George, a member of Parliament, and his beautiful young wife, Magdalene, who is secretly in debt, also agree to attend, though Magdalene dreads the visit.

Simeon reveals his surprise guests to Alfred and Lydia. The first is Pilar, who is the daughter of his deceased child, Jennifer. The second is his estranged son, Harry, the family’s “prodigal son,” who has been absent for 20 years after a scandal involving theft. Alfred is deeply disturbed by Harry’s return, which pleases Simeon. Later, alone in his room, Simeon takes out a small bag of uncut diamonds from his safe, gloating over them and the entertainment he anticipates from the family gathering.

The next day, Harry arrives at Gorston Hall. He meets Pilar before having a tense reunion with Alfred. Simeon spends time with Pilar, boasting of the many children he sired out of wedlock and expressing his disdain for the sons his wife bore. He shows her the uncut diamonds, explaining that they are worth a fortune. Meanwhile, David is overcome with painful memories in his mother’s old sitting room. Later, Stephen arrives and introduces himself as the son of Simeon’s old South African business partner, Ebenezer Farr. The elderly butler, Tressilian, is struck by a sense of déjà vu due to Stephen’s strong resemblance to Harry. Simeon welcomes Stephen and insists he stay for Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, Simeon continues to manipulate his family. He orchestrates a confrontation between Alfred and Harry. He then summons the entire family to his room and makes sure they overhear him on the telephone with his lawyer, Mr. Charlton, arranging to draft a new will after Christmas. He proceeds to taunt each of them by threatening to cut George’s allowance, insulting David’s mother, and declaring all his sons to be weaklings. After he dismisses them, Hilda remains behind to warn him that his cruel games are dangerous and that she fears for his safety.

That evening, just before 8:00 pm, Superintendent Sugden arrives, claiming to be collecting for a police charity. He is taken up to see Simeon. Horbury is visibly shaken by the police officer’s presence before he leaves for his night out. At approximately 9:15 pm, a loud crash of furniture and smashing china erupts from Simeon’s room, followed by a horrific, high-pitched scream that ends in a gurgle. The family members rush upstairs to find Simeon’s door locked from the inside. Harry, Alfred, and Stephen break it down to reveal a scene of chaos. Heavy furniture is overturned, and Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood with his throat cut. Sugden, having just returned for a 9:15 pm appointment with Simeon, arrives and takes control of the scene. He sees Pilar pick up a small object from the floor and confiscates it.

The chief constable, Colonel Johnson, who is hosting Hercule Poirot for Christmas, is summoned and brings the famous detective with him. Sugden tells them that Simeon called him earlier to report the theft of his diamonds and asked him to return at 9:15. The police determine that the door was locked from the outside, the murder weapon is missing, and the windows are secure, leading them to conclude that the killer must be someone in the house. During the initial interviews, Alfred and Harry claim they were in the dining room together. Tressilian says he saw Lydia in the drawing room moments before the scream. David and Hilda claim they were together in the music room, where David was playing the “Dead March.” George and Magdalene give conflicting accounts, with both claiming to be on the same telephone. Pilar and Stephen have only weak alibis, and Horbury’s alibi is confirmed by his girlfriend, who was at the cinema with him.

On Christmas Day, Poirot continues his investigation. Sugden confirms that George’s telephone call ended 10 minutes before the murder and that Magdalene made no call at all. When confronted, Magdalene confesses that she was hiding behind the stairs, waiting to make a secret call to a male friend. Poirot discovers the “stolen” diamonds hidden among pebbles in one of Lydia’s miniature rock gardens on the terrace. Hilda confides in Poirot about David’s long-held resentment toward his father, yet David himself appears joyful and unburdened since the murder.

The following day, Simeon’s will is read; it leaves half his fortune to Alfred and divides the rest among his other children. Because Jennifer predeceased him, her share reverts to the estate, leaving Pilar with nothing. Later, while playing with balloons, Pilar remarks that the piece of rubber she found in Simeon’s room looked like a fragment from a burst balloon. Soon after, the butler reports that a heavy stone cannonball is missing from its plinth outside. Poirot warns Pilar that she is in grave danger. Shortly thereafter, she narrowly escapes a booby trap in her room, as the missing cannonball was poised to fall on her head. Confronted by Poirot, Pilar admits that she was not in her room during the murder but was hiding in a recess near Simeon’s room, where she saw a woman standing in the doorway just before the struggle began.

Poirot gathers the family to reveal what happened. Sugden confronts Stephen with a cable proving that he is an impostor. Stephen confesses that his real surname is Grant and that he is one of Simeon’s illegitimate sons. He came to England to see the father he never knew. Moved by the family’s generosity, Pilar confesses that she is also an impostor. Her real name is Conchita Lopez, and she assumed Pilar’s identity after the young woman was killed in Spain.

Poirot determines that the murderer is Sugden, another of Simeon Lee’s illegitimate sons. His motive was a lifetime of resentment and a desire for revenge against the father who had wronged his mother. Sugden killed Simeon during his initial visit and then staged the scene to create a false time of death. He arranged the furniture to be pulled down by a cord running out a slightly open window and used a “Dying Pig” novelty balloon to produce the horrific “scream.” At 9:15, Sugden returned, stood outside, and pulled the cord, triggering the crash and the scream to create the illusion of a murder in progress. The rubber fragment Pilar found was from this balloon. Poirot explains that he deduced Sugden’s identity from the strong family resemblance between him, Simeon, Harry, and Stephen, which he confirmed by placing a false moustache on a portrait of the young Simeon Lee. Sugden confesses and voices his consuming hatred for his father.

In the aftermath, the family disperses. Conchita and Stephen plan to marry and move to South Africa. Harry leaves for Hawaii. David and Hilda depart, finally free from the past’s oppressive weight. George and Magdalene leave, with George worrying about scandal falling on the family. Alfred and Lydia decide to sell Gorston Hall and begin a new life together. Poirot and Colonel Johnson reflect on the case, with Johnson lamenting the loss of his “best man.”