Poirot Quotes

If you will forgive me for being personal - I do not like your face, M. Ratchett,' Poirot said. ~ Agatha Christie

A brave new world. There isn't anything really like that, is there?"
"You don't believe in it?"
"Do you?"
"There is always a brave new world," said Poirot, "but only, you know, for very special people. The lucky ones. The ones who carry the making of that world within themselves. ~ Agatha Christie

I suppose next time I come home I shall find you wearing false moustaches - or are you doing so now?'
Poirot winced. His moustaches had always been his sensitive point. He was inordinately proud of them. My words touched him on the raw.
'No, no, indeed, mon ami. That day, I pray the good God, is still far off. The false moustaches! Quelle Horreur!'
He tugged at them vigorously to assure me of their genuine character.
'Well, they are very luxuriant still,' I said.
'N'est-ce pas? Never, in the whole of London, have I seen a pair of moustaches to equal mine.'
A good job too, I thought privately. ~ Agatha Christie

...you can always agree on one thing. You can shake hands, smile, and say, 'Yes...we will have to agree to disagree. ~ Ken Poirot

You weren't quite accurate just now."
"I? Not accurate?" Poirot sounded affronted. ~ Agatha Christie

Poirot smoothed his mustache, as if he imagined that laughing might have shaken it out of shape. ~ Sophie Hannah

Let me tell you this, Hastings. She would never forgive me if I let Alfred Inglethorp, her husband, be arrested now - when a word from me could save him! ~ Agatha Christie

Sensationalism dies quickly, fear is long-lived. ~ Agatha Christie

Then, towards the end of the meal, Anthony Hicks leant across the table towards me and looked me straight in the eye. 'I want you to remember', he said, a touch fiercely, 'that we, the audience, can and will smile with Poirot.' Then he paused. 'But we must never, ever, laugh at him.' There was another pause. 'And I am most certainly not joking.' I gulped, before Rosalind said, equally forcefully, 'And that is why we want you to play him. ~ David Suchet

I may," said Poirot in a completely unconvinced tone, "be wrong."
Morton smiled. "But that doesn't often happen to you?"
"No. Though I will admit - yes, I am forced to admit - that it has happened to me."
"I must say I'm glad to hear it! To be always right must be sometimes monotonous."
"I do not find it so," Poirot assured him. ~ Agatha Christie

Humor is a tool to ease the harsh realities of life. ~ Ken Poirot

True beauty is a warm heart, a kind soul, and an attentive ear. ~ Ken Poirot

Funny how so many missed me when I was gone yet so few appreciated me when I was here. ~ Ken Poirot

Meanwhile we have learnt something, and to know is to be prepared. ~ Agatha Christie

I suggest to you that, although you may have endeavored to gloss over the fact to yourself, you did deliberately set about taking your husband from your friend. I suggest that you felt strongly attracted to him at once. But I suggest that there was a moment when you hesitated, when you realized that there was a choice–that you could refrain or go on. I suggest that the initiative rested with you–not with Monsieur Doyle. … You had everything, Madame, that life can offer. Your friend's life was bound up in one person. You knew that, but, though you hesitated, you did not hold your hand. You stretched it out and, like the rich man in the Bible, you took the poor man's one ewe lamb. ~ Agatha Christie

At the small table, sitting very upright, was one of the ugliest old ladies he had ever seen. It was an ugliness of distinction - it fascinated rather than repelled. ~ Agatha Christie

But seriously Poirot, what a hobby! Compare that to
" his voice sank to an appreciative purr
"an easy chair in front of a wood fire in a long low room lined with books
must be a long room
not a square one. Books all round one. A glass of port
and a book open in your hand. Time rolls back as you read. ~ Agatha Christie

The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it. ~ Agatha Christie

But I don't doubt it will be essentially the same type of crime. The details may be different, but the essentials underlying them will be the same. It's odd, but a criminal gives himself away every time by that. Man is an unoriginal animal," said Hercule Poirot.
"Women," said Mrs. Oliver, " are capable of infinite variation. I should never commit the same type of murder twice running."
"Don't you ever write the same plot twice running?" asked Battle. ~ Agatha Christie

The more I learn about myself, the more I understand you. ~ Ken Poirot

Oh, it's you, sir," she exclaimed.
She drew the door right back. A look of highly pleasurable excitement spread over her face.
"Come in, sir, if you please, sir."
We entered the hall. From beneath the door on the left, loud snuffling sounds proceeded, interspersed with growls. Bob was endeavoring to "place" us correctly.
"You can let him out", I suggested.
"I will, sir. He's quite all right, really, but he makes such a noise and rushes at people so it frightens them. He's a splendid watchdog though."
She opened the morning room door, and Bob shot through like a suddenly projected cannonball.
"Who is it? Where are they? Oh, there you are. Dear me, don't I seem to remember -" sniff- sniff- sniff- prolonged snort. "Of course! We have met!"
"Hullo, old man," I said. "How goes it?"
Bob wagged his tail perfunctorily.
"Nicely, thank you. Let me just see -" he resumed his researches. "Been talking to a spaniel lately, I smell. Foolish dogs, I think. What's this? A cat? That is interesting. Wish we had her here. We'd have rare sport. H'm - not a bad bull terrier."
Having correctly diagnosed a visit I had paid recently to some doggy friends, he transferred his attention to Poirot, inhaled a noseful of benzine and walked away reproachfully.
"Bob", I called.
He threw me a look over his shoulder.
"It's all right. I know what I am doing. I'll be back in a jiffy. ~ Agatha Christie

As one journeys through life," said Poirot, "one finds more and more that people are often interested in things that are none of their own business. Even more so than they are in things that could be considered as their own business. ~ Agatha Christie

True love is built on free will and free choice, not control and manipulation. ~ Ken Poirot

I do not argue with obstinate men. I act in spite of them. ~ Agatha Christie

At all events, let us examine the position from the point of view of murder, not suicide."
"Oh, all right. If you are on the scene, it probably would be murder!"
For a moment Poirot smiled. "I hardly like that remark. ~ Agatha Christie

There is at Christmas time a great deal of hypocrisy, honourable hypocrisy, hypocrisy undertaken pour le bon motif, c'est entendu, but nevertheless hypocrisy! ~ Agatha Christie

It would not have done Poirot any good whatever to state that his wishes were the precise opposite of hers in this respect. Nothing fascinated him more than the private passions of strangers he would probably never meet again. ~ Sophie Hannah

M. Poirot,' she said somewhat breathlessly, 'Can I speak to you alone?' 'Milady, Captain Hastings is as my other self. You can speak before him as though he were a thing of no account, not there at all. Be seated, I pray you. ~ Agatha Christie

We will sit here and drink coffee, and you shall all three listen to Hercule Poirot while he gives you a lecture on crime. ~ Agatha Christie

You're suggesting the mysterious X. Where do we look for him?'

Poirot said:

'Obviously in a close circle. There were five people, were there not, whocould have been concerned?'

'Five? Let me see. There was the old duffer who messed about with his herb brewing. A dangerous hobby-but an amiable creature. Vague sort of person. Don't see him as X. There was the girl-she might have polished off Caroline, but certainly not Amyas. Then there was the stockbroker-Crale's best friend. That's popular in detective stories, but I don't believe in it in real life. There's no one else-oh yes, the kid sister, but one doesn't seriously consider her. That's four.'

Hercule Poirot said:

'You forget the governess.'

'Yes, that's true. Wretched people, governesses, one never does remember them. I do recall her dimly though. Middle-aged, plain, competent. I suppose a psychologist would say that she had a guilty passion for Crale and therefore killed him. The repressed spinster! It's no good-I just don't believe it. As far as my dim remembrance goes she wasn't the neurotic type.'

'It is a long time ago.'

'Fifteen or sixteen years, I suppose. Yes, quite that. You can't expect my memories of the case to be very acute. ~ Agatha Christie

Sometimes I feel sure he is as mad as a hatter and then, just as he is at his maddest, I find there is a method in his madness. ~ Agatha Christie

An air of infinite reluctance M. Poirot climbed aboard the train. The conductor climbed after him. ~ Agatha Christie

But it is not everything in life that has its ticket, so much. There are things that are not for sale. ~ Agatha Christie

In fact,' said Poirot, 'she stabbed him in the dark, not realising that he was dead already, but somehow deduced that he had a watch in his pyjama pocket, took it out, put back the hands blindly and gave it the requisite dent. ~ Agatha Christie

Be grateful for betrayal as it exposes someone who was never worthy of you or further consideration. ~ Ken Poirot

He dragged me back - just in time. A tree had crashed down on to the side walk, just missing us. Poirot stared at it, pale and upset.
"It was a near thing that! But clumsy, all the same - for I had no suspicion - at least hardly any suspicion. Yes, but for my quick eyes, the eyes of a cat, Hercule Poirot might now be crushed out of existence - a terrible calamity for the world. And you, too, mon ami - though that would not be such a national catastrophe."
"Thank you," I said coldly. ~ Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot: I am an imbecile. I see only half of the picture.
Miss Lemon: I don't even see that. ~ Agatha Christie

What are you doing, Poirot?"
"I dissect rucksacks. It is very interesting. ~ Agatha Christie

Motives for murder are sometimes very trivial, Madame." "What are the most usual motives, Monsieur Poirot?" "Most frequent - money. That is to say, gain in its various ramifications. Then there is revenge - and love, and fear, and pure hate, and beneficence - " "Monsieur Poirot!" "Oh, yes, Madame. I have known of - shall we say A? - being removed by B solely in order to benefit C. Political murders often come under the same heading. Someone is considered to be harmful to civilization and is removed on that account. Such people forget that life and death are the affair of the good God. ~ Agatha Christie

Poirot and I behaved in the customary fashion of people being shown over houses. We stood stock still, looking a little ill at ease, murmuring remarks such as: "Very nice." "A very pleasant room." "The morning-room, you say? ~ Agatha Christie

Vampires are real! There are dead people walking among us who are so broken inside they can only truly feel whole by feeding on the life, energy, joy, and happiness of others, all the while taking great pleasure in the pain and destruction they purposefully inflict. The only defense from these vampires is to run away as fast as you can and never look back. ~ Ken Poirot

That is what I mean. A bath! The receptacle of porcelain, one turns the taps and fills it, one gets in, one gets out and ghoosh - ghoosh - ghoosh, the water goes down the waste pipe!"
"M. Poirot are you quite mad?"
"No, I am extremely sane. ~ Agatha Christie

You have a great advantage as a writer, Monsieur,' said Poirot. 'You can relieve your feelings by expedient of the printed word. You have the power of the pen over your enemies. ~ Agatha Christie

The only time that exists in life is now. ~ Ken Poirot

Difficulties are made to be overcome ~ Miss Felicity Lemon, Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Plymouth Express ~ Agatha Christie

What would Poirot do? Poirot wouldn't flap around in a panic. He'd stay calm and use his little grey cells and recall some tiny, vital detail which would be the clue to everything. ~ Sophie Kinsella

About Miss Debenham," he said rather awkwardly. "You can take it from me that she's all right. She's a pukka sahib.
"What," asked Dr. Constantine with interest, "does a pukka sahib mean?"
"It means," said Poirot, "that Miss Debenham's father and brothers were at the same kind of school as Colonel Arbuthnot was."
"Oh!" said Dr. Constantine, disappointed. "Then it has nothing to do with the crime at all."
"Exactly," said Poirot. ~ Agatha Christie

The best meals are those prepared by loving hands. ~ Ken Poirot

Eh bien, then, you are crazy, or appear crazy or you think you are crazy, and possibly you may be crazy. ~ Agatha Christie

One act of betrayal can shatter a lifetime of trust. ~ Ken Poirot

Unless you are good at guessing, it is not much use being a detective. ~ Agatha Christie

Mr. Satterthwaite looked cheered.
Suddenly an idea struck him. His jaw fell.
"My goodness," he cried, "I've only just realized it! That rascal, with his poisoned cocktail! Anyone might have drunk it! It might have been me!"
"There is an even more terrible possibility that you have not considered," said Poirot.
"Eh?"
"It might have been me," said Hercule Poirot. ~ Agatha Christie

I was interested, M. Poirot, in something you said just now. You said that there was evil done everywhere under the sun. It was almost a quotation from Ecclesiastes." He paused and then quoted himself: "Yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live. ~ Agatha Christie

I pass over the spectacle of Poirot on a camel. He started by groans and lamentations and ended by shrieks, gesticulations and invocations to the Virgin Mary and every Saint in the calendar. In the end, he descended ignominiously and finished the journey on a diminutive donkey. ~ Agatha Christie

What you do not understand is that there are things that cannot be bought. ~ Agatha Christie

I have no pity for myself either. So let it be Veronal. But I wish Hercule Poirot had never retired from work and come here to grow vegetable marrows. ~ Agatha Christie

I am all that there is of the most real. ~ Agatha Christie

We all have the little grey cells. And so few of us know how to use them. ~ Agatha Christie

A statesman in these days has a difficult task. He has to pursue the policy he deems advantageous to his country, but he has at the same time to recognize the force of popular feeling. Popular feeling is very often sentimental, muddleheaded, and eminently unsound, but it cannot be disregarded for all that. ~ Agatha Christie

I should hope, Mr. Poirot, that whatever our feelings, we can keep them in decent control. And we can certainly control our actions. ~ Agatha Christie

Alas," murmured Poirot to his mustaches, "that one can only eat three times a day ... ~ Agatha Christie

I don't know why dogs always go for postmen, I'm sure," continued our guide.
"It's a matter of reasoning," said Poirot. "The dog, he argues from reason. He is intelligent; he makes his deductions according to his point of view. There are people who may enter a house and there are people who may not - that a dog soon learns. Eh bien, who is the person who most persistently tries to gain admission, rattling on the door twice or three times a day - and who is never by any chance admitted? The postman. Clearly, then, an undesirable guest from the point of view of the master of the house. He is always sent about his business, but he persistently returns and tries again. Then a dog's duty is clear, to aid in driving this undesirable man away, and to bite him if possible. A most reasonable proceeding. ~ Agatha Christie

I like to see an angry Englishman," said Poirot. "They are very amusing. The more emotional they feel the less command they have of language. ~ Agatha Christie

There comes to everyone a turning point in their lives, M. Poirot. They stand at the crossroads and have to decide. My profession interests me enormously; it is a sorrow - a very great sorrow - to abandon it. But there are other claims. There is, M. Poirot, the happiness of a human being. ~ Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot addressed himself to the task of keeping his moustaches out of the soup. ~ Agatha Christie

Pas encore. Qa m'amuse."
"Really, Poirot!"
"Yes, my friend. I grow old and childish, do I not? ~ Agatha Christie

You belong to the League of Nations?'
'I belong to the world, Madame,' said Poirot dramatically. ~ Agatha Christie

A loose tile; Poirot could not sleep in a room with such a thing. ~ Sophie Hannah

The dog hunts rabbits. Hercule Poirot hunts murderers. ~ Agatha Christie

I was tired of this silly joking about my 'speaking countenance'. I could keep a secret as well as anyone. Poirot had always persisted in the humiliating belief that I am a transparent character and that anyone can read what is passing in my mind. ~ Agatha Christie

No, my friend, I am not drunk. I have just been to the dentist, and need not return for another six months! Is it not the most beautiful thought?
Poirot ~ Agatha Christie

Trains are relentless things, aren't they, Monsieur Poirot? People are murdered and die, but they go on just the same. I am talking nonsense, but you know what I mean."
"Yes, yes, I know. Life is like a train, Mademoiselle. It goes on. And it is a good thing that that is so."
"Why?"
"Because the train gets to its journey's end at last, and there is a proverb about that in your language, Mademoiselle."
"'Journey's end in lovers meeting.'" Lenox laughed. "That is not going to be true for me."
"Yes
yes, it is true. You are young, younger than you yourself know. Trust the train, Mademoiselle, for it is le bon Dieu who drives it."
The whistle of the engine came again.
"Trust the train, Mademoiselle," murmured Poirot again. "And trust Hercule Poirot. He knows. ~ Agatha Christie

Nowadays, no one believes in evil. It is considered, at most, a mere negation of good. Evil, people say, is done by those who know no better - who are undeveloped - who are to be pitied rather than blamed. But, M. Poirot, evil is real! It is a fact! I believe in Evil as I believe in Good. It exists! It is powerful! It walks the earth!' He stopped. His breath was coming fast. He wiped his forehead with his handkerchief and looked suddenly apologetic. 'I'm sorry. I got carried away. ~ Agatha Christie

You tell your lies and you think nobody knows. But there are two people who know. Yes- two people. One is le bon Dieu - and the other is Hercule Poirot ~ Agatha Christie

But then, how do you know?"
"Because I am Hercule Poirot I do not need to be told. ~ Agatha Christie

I like to inquire into everything. Hercule Poirot is a good dog. The good dog follows the scent, and if, regrettably, there is no scent to follow, he noses around - seeking always something that is not very nice. ~ Agatha Christie

So you think that the coco- mark well what I say, Hastings, the coco- contained strychnine?"
"Of course! That salt on the tray, what else could it have been?"
"It might have been salt." replied Poirot placidly. ~ Agatha Christie

And then?"
"And then," said Poirot. "We will talk! Je vous assure, Hastings - there is nothing so dangerous for anyone who has something to hide as conversation! Speech, so a wise old Frenchman said to me once, is an invention of man's to prevent him from thinking. It is also an infallible means of discovering that which he wishes to hide. A human being, Hastings, cannot resist the opportunity to reveal himself and express his personality which conversation gives him. Every time he will give himself away."
"What do you expect Cust to tell you?"
Hercule Poirot smiled.
"A lie," he said. "And by it, I shall know the truth! ~ Agatha Christie

Even the most beautiful girl in the world becomes unsightly without depth of character. ~ Ken Poirot

Love is to give, commit, and trust completely; the courage to be vulnerable without the omniscience of another's virtue. ~ Ken Poirot

Poirot did not enter into a controversy. He had already learnt that every single individual had a different version of the theme "What did we fight the war for? ~ Agatha Christie

I'm never going to believe a Poirot mystery again. Never. All those witnesses going, "Yes, I remember it was 3:06 p.m. exactly, because I glanced at the clock as I reached for the sugar tongs, and Lady Favisham was quite clearly sitting on the right-hand side of the fireplace."
Bollocks. They have no idea where Lady Favisham was, they just don't want to admit it in front of Poirot. I'm amazed he gets anywhere. ~ Sophie Kinsella

My flute, M. Poirot, is my oldest companion. When everything else fails, music remains. ~ Agatha Christie

In fact the marriage has been arranged by heaven and Hercule Poirot. All I have to do is to compound a felony. ~ Agatha Christie

The expected has happened, and when the expected happens, it always causes me emotion. ~ Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot was sitting at the breakfast table. At his right hand was a steaming cup ~ Agatha Christie

These blondes, sir, they're responsible for a lot of trouble. ~ Agatha Christie

Mademoiselle, I speak as a friend. Bury your dead! ... Give up the past! Turn to the future! What is done is done. Bitterness will not undo it.'

'I'm sure that would suit dear Linnet admirably.'

Poirot made a gesture. 'I am not thinking of her at this moment! I am thinking of you. You have suffered - yes - but what you are doing now will only prolong the suffering. ~ Agatha Christie

The two words expressed volumes. ~ Agatha Christie

What one does not tell to Papa Poirot he finds out. ~ Agatha Christie

But Aunt Maureen makes smashing omelettes." Julia Upjohn.
"She makes smashing omelettes." Poirot's voice was happy. He sighed.
"Then Hercule Poirot has not lived in vain, he said. It was I who taught your Aunt Maureen to make an omelette. ~ Agatha Christie

Poirot asked:

'Whatdo you see so plainly? The witnesses? The counsel? The judge? The accused standing in the dock?'

Fogg said quietly:

'That's the reason, of course! You've put your finger on it. I shall always seeher…Funny thing, romance. She had the quality of it. I don't know if she was really beautiful…She wasn't very young-tired looking-circles under her eyes. But it all centered round her. The interest-the drama. And yet, half the time,she wasn't there. She'd gone away somewhere, quite far away-just left her body there, quiescent, attentive, with the little polite smile on her lips. She was all half tones, you know, lights and shades. And yet, with it all, she was more alive than the other-that girl with the perfect body, and the beautiful face, and the crude young strength. I admired Elsa Greer because she had guts, because she could fight, because she stood up to her tormentors and never quailed! But I admired Caroline Crale because she didn't fight, because she retreated into her world of half lights and shadows. She was never defeated because she never gave battle.'

He paused:

'I'm only sure of one thing. She loved the man she killed. Loved him so much that half of her died with him…'

Mr Fogg, K.C., paused and polished his glasses.

'Dear me,' he said. 'I seem to be saying some very strange things! I was quite a young man at the time, you know. Just an ambitious youngster. These things make ~ Agatha Christie

Poirot's eyes opened. "That is great ferocity," he said.

"It is a woman," said the chef de train, speaking for the first time. "Depend upon it, it was a woman. Only a woman would stab like that."

Dr. Constantine screwed up his face thoughtfully. "She must have been a very strong woman," he said. "It is not my desire to speak technically-that is only confusing; but I can assure you that two of the blows were delivered with such forces as to drive them through hard belts of bone and muscle."

"It was clearly not a scientific crime," said Poirot.

"It was most unscientific," returned Dr. Constantine.

"The blows seem to have been delivered haphazard and at random. Some have glanced off, doing hardly any damage. It is as though somebody had shut his eyes and then in a frenzy struck blindly again and again."

"C'est une femme," said the chef de train again. "Women are like that. When they are enraged they have great strength." He nodded so sagely that everyone suspected a personal experience of his own. ~ Agatha Christie

We had reached Leastways Cottage, and Poirot ushered me upstairs to his own room. He offered me one of the tiny Russian cigarettes he himself occasionally smoked. I was amused to notice that he stowed away the used matches most carefully in a little china pot. My momentary annoyance vanished. ~ Agatha Christie

Life can be very terrible," he said. "One needs much courage."
"To kill oneself? yes, I suppose one does."
"Also to live," said Poirot, "one needs courage. ~ Agatha Christie

Everyone is a potential murderer-in everyone there arises from time to time the wish to kill-though not the will to kill. ~ Agatha Christie

If you've lost, you've lost. ~ Agatha Christie

And yet," said Poirot, "suppose an accident-"
"Ah, no, my friend-"
"From your point of view it would be regrettable, I agree. But nevertheless let us just for one moment suppose it. Then, perhaps, all these here are linked together - by death. ~ Agatha Christie

That is the worst of Poirot. Order and Method are his gods. He goes so far as to attribute all his success to them. ~ Agatha Christie

Oh, my friend, have I not said to you all along that I have no proofs. It is one thing to know that a man is guilty, it is quite another matter to prove him so. And, in this case, there is terribly little evidence. That is the whole trouble. ~ Agatha Christie