Hercule Poirot (1944) The Case of the Roving Corpse

Hercule Poirot: the world-renowned, mustachioed Belgian private detective, unsurpassed in his intelligence and understanding of the criminal mind, respected and admired by police forces and heads of state across the globe. Since his inception over 100 years ago, Poirot has stolen the hearts and minds of audiences from Azerbaijan to Vietnam, and his celebrated cases have been recorded across 33 original novels and over 50 short stories.

Standing at a diminutive 5’4” – although there have been various interpretations of this on stage and screen – Poirot’s described in writing as having an egg-shaped head, often tilted to one side, and eyes that shine green when he’s excited. He dresses very precisely and takes the utmost pride in his appearance.

Perhaps even more famous than the man himself, is his moustache. Luxurious, magnificent, immense, and dedicatedly groomed, the moustache precedes Poirot into a room; it’s a unique talking point, it’s provocative, and it has a character all of its own.

Poirot’s friend Hastings puts us straight in the picture in their first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, where we’re informed that “as a detective, Poirot’s flair had been extraordinary”. While some detectives scrabble around on the floor searching for clues, Poirot uses psychology and his extensive knowledge of human nature to weed out the criminals. He will of course take physical evidence into account, but more often than not his combination of order, method and his little grey cells does the trick. Poirot’s cases are invariably finished with a typical, dramatic denouement, satisfying his own ego and confirming to all that he is truly "the greatest mind in Europe."