Death is such a regular part of Agatha Christie novels that you’d be hard-pressed to find one that doesn’t find someone biting the dust. But “Curtain” (1975), Christie’s last-published Poirot novel and second-to-last overall published novel, is a little different. (SPOILERS FOLLOW.)
Not because it doesn’t feature death (the body count is respectable), but because – as most people know through the grapevine even before reading it – it features the death of Poirot himself. Poirot is “real” to us the way one-off murder victims aren’t. “Curtain” could potentially be hard to read.
Everyone’s experience of sadness is different, but I found the chapter where Poirot dies to be quite tolerable. I didn’t cry or fall into a funk. “Curtain” is sad, but not unbearable. It’s a celebration of Poirot in the best way possible, in that it’s not a celebration; it’s simply a darn good mystery with a psychological spin.
“Curtain” (1975)
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery
Series: Hercule Poirot No. 34
Setting: Styles boarding house, English countryside, 1975
Return to her prime
And in 1975, it was one of the better novels readers had gotten from Christie in some time. Many would say it’s her first great novel since 1967’s “Endless Night” (although I personally think 1968’s “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” is great too). This is because she actually wrote “Curtain” in her prime, in the 1940s, but set it aside in order to be published as Poirot’s final case. (Christie passed away the year after its publication.)
“Curtain” is nostalgic, returning to the site of Christie’s first novel, yet fresh. Hastings again narrates, for the first time since 1937’s “Dumb Witness.” Poirot, more than ever, uses his friend’s trusting nature as part of his crime-solving tool kit. Poirot is confined to a wheelchair and prone to heart attacks – he has nitro capsules nearby – but his brain is as sharp as ever. So sharp, in fact, that Poirot is keeping big-time tricks from both Hastings and the reader.
Making this even more of a personal and cozy book for fans, Hastings’ 21-year-old daughter Judith is among the dramatis personae. Hastings worries over her and tries (and fails) to micromanage her life. This feels right for the character.
Because of how it ends – capped off with several pages of posthumous Poirot explanation via a letter to Hastings – “Curtain” is unlike anything Christie had written before.
Smart armchair psychology
But before the big reveal, Christie engages in a smart armchair-psychology study of manipulation – even beyond what Poirot himself is doing. A master manipulator is among the residents of Styles, which is now a boarding house.
This person has somehow pushed others to kill through the years. Poirot and Hastings call him or her “X.” The concept is reminiscent of one segment of “The ABC Murders” (which Christie had written not long before this), but extrapolated further.
There’s also a slight tinge of “And Then There Were None,” which Christie wrote shortly before this. Anyone could be the manipulator, anyone could be the manipulated, anyone could be the victim – and they’re all in one building.
“Curtain” perhaps deserves a small ding because these manipulations would be unlikely to be pulled off so smoothly in the real world, and with such a high success rate. On the other hand, it’s true that people’s feelings, behavior and actions can be shaped by someone else. Murderous action might be less likely, but hey, this is a work of high drama.
It’s not the last Christie – that’ll be 1976’s “Sleeping Murder,” the final Marple, an encore of sorts. But “Curtain” is a final bow. The mistress of mystery – while giving us the comforting clues and Poirot-Hastings interplay we love – unleashes one last twist we had never seen before.
Sleuthing Sunday reviews an Agatha Christie book or adaptation. Click here to visit our Agatha Christie Zone.