The Labours of Hercules
Dust-jacket illustration of the US (true first) edition. See Publication history (below) for UK first edition jacket image.
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| Author | Agatha Christie |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Company |
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Publication date
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1947 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 265 |
| Preceded by | Come, Tell Me How You Live |
| Followed by | Taken at the Flood |
The Labours of Hercules is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1947 and in the UK by Collins Crime Club in September of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6).
It features Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and gives an account of twelve cases with which he intends to close his career as a private detective. His regular sidekicks (his secretary, Miss Lemon, and valet, George/Georges) make cameo appearances, as does Chief Inspector Japp. The stories were all first published in periodicals between 1939 and 1947.
In the Foreword to the volume, Poirot declares that he will carefully choose the cases to conform to the mythological sequence of the Twelve Labours of Hercules. In some cases (such as The Nemean Lion) the connection is a highly tenuous one, while in others the choice of case is more or less forced upon Poirot by circumstances. By the end, The Capture of Cerberus has events that correspond with the twelfth labour with almost self-satirical convenience.
Hercule Poirot is enjoying a social visit by Dr. Burton, a fellow of All Souls who recites sonorously some lines from Homer's Iliad (XXIII, 316 f) and turns the conversation round to the subject of Poirot's unusual Christian name and how some of the pagan names parents give to their children do not suit their recipients. He thinks about Poirot's and Sherlock Holmes's mothers sitting together and discussing names for their children. Poirot claims ignorance of the legend of Hercules. The talk turns to Poirot's intention to retire after completing a few cases of interest and personal appeal and Burton laughingly refers to the twelve labours of Hercules. This comment gives Poirot pause for thought and after his visitor has gone, Poirot gets acquainted with the exploits of his legendary namesake, deciding his final cases will mimic Hercules's Twelve Labours.
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Wikipedia