Hickory Dickory Dock (novel)

Plot summary

An outbreak of apparent kleptomania at Mrs Nicoletis' student hostel draws Hercule Poirot's attention when he sees a bizarre list of stolen or vandalized items: a shoe, a stethoscope, a bracelet, a powder compact, a cookbook, lightbulbs, old flannel trousers, a box of chocolates, a rucksack, a silk scarf, boracic powder, green ink, and a diamond ring later found in a bowl of soup. The warden, Mrs Hubbard, is congratulated by Poirot on a 'unique and beautiful problem'.

When Poirot threatens to call the police, Celia Austin confesses to being the primary thief but denies stealing Nigel Chapman's green ink, Len Bateson's stethoscope, Chandra Lal's boracic powder, the hallway light bulbs, and cutting up Len's rucksack. She committed the lesser crimes to attract psychology student Colin McNabb, who proposes marriage. Celia makes restitution and hints she knows who committed the other thefts, but is found dead the next morning from an overdose of morphine tartrate, ruled a homicide.

Inspector Sharpe interviews the hostel inhabitants. Nigel Chapman admits he acquired the morphine tartrate as part of a bet to steal three deadly poisons; he stole the stethoscope to disguise himself as a doctor. He claims all poisons were destroyed, but some morphine may have been extracted. Poirot focuses on the diamond ring's reappearance and confronts Valerie Hobhouse, in whose soup the ring was found.

Valerie admits she suggested the theft scheme to Celia, but Celia was only to steal worthless items. Realizing Celia had accidentally stolen something valuable, Valerie took the ring, swapped the diamond for a zircon to pay gambling debts, and staged the ring's return.

Literary significance and reception

Philip John Stead's review in the Times Literary Supplement of 23 December 1955 noted Poirot's return as 'something of an event' and praised Christie's 'skilful mixture of cheerfulness and suspense', though he found the amount of mischief 'imposes some strain on the reader's patience' and the puzzle 'over-elaborate'. Robert Barnard described the novel as 'a significant falling-off in standards', calling the plot unlikely and the attempt to widen character types unsuccessful. He quoted Evelyn Waugh's diary, which said the book 'began well' but deteriorated 'a third of the way through into twaddle', a judgment Barnard felt was charitable.

Television adaptations

A British television adaptation starring David Suchet as Poirot, Philip Jackson as Inspector Japp, and Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon was broadcast in 1995 as part of the series Agatha Christie's Poirot. The setting was moved from the post-World War II period to the 1930s, creating an anachronism when the American student Sally Finch is said to be on a Fulbright scholarship, though the Fulbright Program was founded after World War II. This adaptation replaced Inspector Sharpe with Inspector Japp and omitted several students from the novel, including Akibombo, Elizabeth Johnston, and Lal.

Other changes included the removal of the green ink red herring, a different motive for Celia's murder, and the smuggling involving only diamonds, with the addition of a Customs and Excise Officer conducting an undercover operation. The novel was also adapted as a 2015 episode of the French television series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie.

Publication history

The novel was first published in hardcover by Collins Crime Club in London on 31 October 1955 (192 pages) and by Dodd Mead and Company in New York in November 1955 (241 pages). Paperback editions followed from Pocket Books in 1956 (222 pages), Fontana Books in 1958 (192 pages), Pan Books in 1967 (189 pages), and Ulverscroft Large-print Edition in 1987. The UK serialisation appeared in John Bull magazine in six abridged instalments from 28 May to 2 July 1955, and the US serialisation in Collier's Weekly in three abridged instalments from 14 October to 11 November 1955 under the title Hickory Dickory Death.