The heatwave continues to affect Central and Mediterranean Europe, and Barcelona is no exception.
The Grandma can't stand the heat -in fact, she dislikes summer- but it returns every year, and she has learned to cope with it in the best way possible: reading on the sofa under the air conditioning.
Today, she has chosen a fantastic book titled Poirot and Me, written by the extraordinary English actor DavidSuchet, who played the famous Belgian detective in the series of the same name. And it is that some books tell a story. Others reveal the story behind the story.
Poirot and Me is David Suchet's heartfelt account of the twenty-four years he spent bringing Hercule Poirot to life. It is not simply a memoir, but a tribute to Agatha Christie's extraordinary detective and to the responsibility of portraying him with authenticity, precision, and respect.
What shines through every chapter is Suchet's unwavering commitment to the character. His meticulous preparation, his deep admiration for Christie's writing, and his genuine affection for Poirot explain why so many readers and viewers regard his performance as the definitive interpretation.
Before filming the first episode, Suchet carefully read every Poirot novel and short story, compiling a detailed notebook of the detective's physical appearance, habits, and personality. He kept it with him throughout the entire series to ensure his portrayal remained faithful to Agatha Christie's original creation.
For anyone who has enjoyed watching Agatha Christie's Poirot, this book offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes and an even greater appreciation of the care and passion that made the series so memorable.
A wonderful read for every Christie enthusiast.
David Suchet (born 2 May 1946 in London) is an acclaimed English actor, best known worldwide for his portrayal of Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie's Poirot(1989–2013). Widely regarded as the definitive screen Poirot, Suchet dedicated himself to portraying the detective as faithfuly as possible to AgathaChristie's original character.
After training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), Suchet built a distinguished career in theatre, television, and film. In addition to Poirot, he has received critical acclaim for performances in productions such as The Way We Live Now and Maxwell, and has appeared in numerous Shakespearean plays.
Suchet comes from a family with strong artistic and intellectual interests. He has been married to Sheila Suchet since 1976, and they have two children.
Beyond acting, he is an accomplished narrator and completed the remarkable achievement of recording the entire New International Version of the Bible. He has often spoken about the importance of his Christian faith in both his personal life and professional career.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to drama, Suchet was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2002 and was knighted in 2020, becoming Sir David Suchet.
When you're doing characters from famous novels, you have a responsibility as an actor to make it what the writer intended. And then you add and expand from there to create a three-dimensional performance.
Today, The Morgans have contacted Hercule Poirotto ask for his help in their goal of finding out where TheGrandma is, who has been missing for more than 96 hours.
Poirot (also known as AgathaChristie'sPoirot) is a British mystery dramatelevisionprogramme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013.
David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, AgathaChristie's fictional HerculePoirot.
Initially
produced by LWT, the series was later produced by ITV Studios. The
series also aired on VisionTV in Canada and on PBS and A&E in the
United States. The programme ran for 13 series and 70 episodes in total; each episode was adapted from a novel or short story by Christie that featured Poirot, and consequently in each episode Poirot
is both the main detective in charge of the investigation of a crime,
usually murder, and the protagonist who is at the centre of most of the
episode's action.
At the programme's conclusion, which finished with Curtain: Poirot's Last Case(based on the 1975 novel Curtain, the final Poirot novel), every major literary work by Christie that featured the title character had been adapted.
Clive
Exton in partnership with producer Brian Eastman adapted the pilot.
Together, they wrote and produced the first eight series. Exton and
Eastman left Poirot after 2001, when they began work on Rosemary
& Thyme. Michele Buck and Damien Timmer, who both went on to form
Mammoth Screen, were behind the revamping of the series.
The episodes aired from 2003
featured a radical shift in tone from the previous series. The humour of
the earlier series was downplayed with each episode being presented as
serious drama and saw the introduction of gritty elements not present in
the Christie stories being adapted.
Recurrent motifs in the additions
included drug use, sex, abortion, homosexuality, and a tendency toward
more visceral imagery. Story changes were often made to present female
characters in a more sympathetic or heroic light, at odds with
Christie's characteristic gender neutrality.
The
visual style of later episodes was correspondingly different:
particularly, an overall darker tone; and austere modernist or Art Deco
locations and decor, widely used earlier in the series, being largely
dropped in favour of more lavish settings (epitomised by the
re-imagining of Poirot's home as a larger, more lavish apartment).
The
series logo was redesigned (the full opening title sequence had not
been used since series 6 in 1996), and the main theme motif, though used
often, was usually featured subtly and in sombre arrangements; this has
been described as a consequence of the novels adapted being darker and
more psychologically driven. However, a more upbeat string arrangement
of the theme music is used for the end credits of Hallowe'en Party, The Clocks and Dead Man's Folly. In flashback scenes, later episodes also made extensive use of fisheye lens, distorted colours, and other visual effects.
Series 9-12 lack Hugh Fraser, Philip
Jackson and Pauline Moran, who had appeared in the previous series
(excepting series 4, where Moran is absent).
Series
10 (2006) introduced Zoë Wanamaker as the eccentric crime novelist
Ariadne Oliver and David Yelland as Poirot's dependable valet, George -a
character that had been introduced in the early Poirot novels but was
left out of the early adaptations to develop the character of Miss
Lemon. The introduction of Wanamaker and Yelland's characters and the
absence of the other characters is generally consistent with the stories
on which the scripts were based. Hugh Fraser and David Yelland returned
for two episodes of the final series (The Big Four and Curtain), with
Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran returning for the adaptation of The Big
Four. Zoë Wanamaker also returned for the adaptations of Elephants Can Remember and Dead Man's Folly.
Clive
Exton adapted seven novels and fourteen short stories for the series,
including The ABC Murders and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which
received mixed reviews from critics.
Anthony
Horowitz was another prolific writer for the series, adapting three
novels and nine short stories, while Nick Dear adapted six novels.
Comedian and novelist Mark Gatiss wrote three episodes and also
guest-starred in the series, as have Peter Flannery and Kevin Elyot. Ian
Hallard, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Big Four with Mark Gatiss, appears in the episode and also Hallowe'enParty, which was scripted by Gatiss alone.
Florin Court in Charterhouse Square, London, was used as Poirot's fictional London residence, Whitehaven Mansions. The final episode to be filmed was Dead Man's Folly in June 2013 on the Greenway Estate, which was Agatha Christie's home,broadcast on 30 October 2013. Most of the locations and buildings
where the episodes were shot were given fictional names.
Suchet was recommended for the part by Christie's family, who had seen him appear as Blott in the TV adaptation of Tom Sharpe's Blott on the Landscape.
Suchet, a method actor, said that he prepared for the part by reading all the Poirot novels and every short story, and copying out every piece of description about the character.
Suchet told The Strand Magazine: What
I did was, I had my file on one side of me and a pile of stories on the
other side and day after day, week after week, I ploughed through most
of Agatha Christie's novels about Hercule Poirot and wrote
down characteristics until I had a file full of documentation of the
character. And then it was my business not only to know what he was
like, but to gradually become him. I had to become him before we started
shooting.
During the filming of the first series, Suchet almost left the production during an argument with a director, insisting that Poirot's odd mannerisms (in this case, putting a handkerchief down before sitting on a park bench) be featured; he later said there's no question [Poirot's] obsessive-compulsive.
According to many critics and enthusiasts, Suchet's
characterisation is considered to be the most accurate interpretation
of all the actors who have played Poirot, and the closest to the
character in the books.
In 2007, Suchet
spoke of his desire to film the remaining stories in the canon and
hoped to achieve this before his 65th birthday in May 2011. Despite
speculation of cancellation early in 2011, the remaining books were
ultimately adapted into a thirteenth series, adapted in 2013 into 5
episodes, from which Curtain aired last on 13 November.
A 2013 television special, Being Poirot, centred on Suchet's characterisation and his emotional final episode.
In 2013, Suchet revealed that Christie's daughter Rosalind Hicks had told him she was sure Christie would have approved of his performance.
Agatha Christie's grandson Mathew Prichard commented: Personally, I regret very much that she [Agatha Christie] never saw David Suchet.
I think that visually he is much the most convincing and perhaps he
manages to convey to the viewer just enough of the irritation that we
always associate with the perfectionist, to be convincing!
In 2008, the series was described by some critics as going off piste,
though not negatively, from its old format. It was praised for its new
writers, more lavish productions and a greater emphasis on the darker
psychology of the novels. Significantly, it was noted for Five Little Pigs,
adapted by Kevin Elyot, bringing out a homosexual subtext of the novel.
Nominations for twenty BAFTAs were received between 1989 and 1991 for
series 1-3.
Today, The Grandma is relaxing at home. She has decided to watch some TV series and she has chosen Agatha Christie's Poirot, one of her favourite ones.
Poirot (also known as AgathaChristie'sPoirot) is a British mystery dramatelevisionprogramme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013.
David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, AgathaChristie's fictional HerculePoirot.
Initially produced by LWT, the series was later produced by ITV Studios. The series also aired on VisionTV in Canada and on PBS and A&E in the United States. The programme ran for 13 series and 70 episodes in total; each episode was adapted from a novel or short story by Christie that featured Poirot, and consequently in each episode Poirot is both the main detective in charge of the investigation of a crime, usually murder, and the protagonist who is at the centre of most of the episode's action.
At the programme's conclusion, which finished with Curtain: Poirot's Last Case(based on the 1975 novel Curtain, the final Poirot novel), every major literary work by Christie that featured the title character had been adapted.
Clive Exton in partnership with producer Brian Eastman adapted the pilot. Together, they wrote and produced the first eight series. Exton and Eastman left Poirot after 2001, when they began work on Rosemary & Thyme. Michele Buck and Damien Timmer, who both went on to form Mammoth Screen, were behind the revamping of the series.
The episodes aired from 2003
featured a radical shift in tone from the previous series. The humour of
the earlier series was downplayed with each episode being presented as
serious drama and saw the introduction of gritty elements not present in
the Christie stories being adapted.
Recurrent motifs in the additions
included drug use, sex, abortion, homosexuality, and a tendency toward
more visceral imagery. Story changes were often made to present female
characters in a more sympathetic or heroic light, at odds with
Christie's characteristic gender neutrality.
The visual style of later episodes was correspondingly different: particularly, an overall darker tone; and austere modernist or Art Deco locations and decor, widely used earlier in the series, being largely dropped in favour of more lavish settings (epitomised by the re-imagining of Poirot's home as a larger, more lavish apartment).
The series logo was redesigned (the full opening title sequence had not been used since series 6 in 1996), and the main theme motif, though used often, was usually featured subtly and in sombre arrangements; this has been described as a consequence of the novels adapted being darker and more psychologically driven. However, a more upbeat string arrangement of the theme music is used for the end credits of Hallowe'en Party, The Clocks and Dead Man's Folly. In flashback scenes, later episodes also made extensive use of fisheye lens, distorted colours, and other visual effects.
Series 9-12 lack Hugh Fraser, Philip
Jackson and Pauline Moran, who had appeared in the previous series
(excepting series 4, where Moran is absent).
Series
10 (2006) introduced Zoë Wanamaker as the eccentric crime novelist
Ariadne Oliver and David Yelland as Poirot's dependable valet, George -a
character that had been introduced in the early Poirot novels but was
left out of the early adaptations to develop the character of Miss
Lemon. The introduction of Wanamaker and Yelland's characters and the
absence of the other characters is generally consistent with the stories
on which the scripts were based. Hugh Fraser and David Yelland returned
for two episodes of the final series (The Big Four and Curtain), with
Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran returning for the adaptation of The Big
Four. Zoë Wanamaker also returned for the adaptations of Elephants Can Remember and Dead Man's Folly.
Clive
Exton adapted seven novels and fourteen short stories for the series,
including The ABC Murders and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which
received mixed reviews from critics.
Anthony Horowitz was another prolific writer for the series, adapting three novels and nine short stories, while Nick Dear adapted six novels. Comedian and novelist Mark Gatiss wrote three episodes and also guest-starred in the series, as have Peter Flannery and Kevin Elyot. Ian Hallard, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Big Four with Mark Gatiss, appears in the episode and also Hallowe'enParty, which was scripted by Gatiss alone.
Florin Court in Charterhouse Square, London, was used as Poirot's fictional London residence, Whitehaven Mansions. The final episode to be filmed was Dead Man's Folly in June 2013 on the Greenway Estate, which was Agatha Christie's home, broadcast on 30 October 2013. Most of the locations and buildings where the episodes were shot were given fictional names.
Suchet was recommended for the part by Christie's family, who had seen him appear as Blott in the TV adaptation of Tom Sharpe's Blott on the Landscape.
Suchet, a method actor, said that he prepared for the part by reading all the Poirot novels and every short story, and copying out every piece of description about the character.
Suchet told The Strand Magazine: What I did was, I had my file on one side of me and a pile of stories on the other side and day after day, week after week, I ploughed through most of Agatha Christie's novels about Hercule Poirot and wrote down characteristics until I had a file full of documentation of the character. And then it was my business not only to know what he was like, but to gradually become him. I had to become him before we started shooting.
During the filming of the first series, Suchet almost left the production during an argument with a director, insisting that Poirot's odd mannerisms (in this case, putting a handkerchief down before sitting on a park bench) be featured; he later said there's no question [Poirot's] obsessive-compulsive.
According to many critics and enthusiasts, Suchet's characterisation is considered to be the most accurate interpretation of all the actors who have played Poirot, and the closest to the character in the books.
In 2007, Suchet spoke of his desire to film the remaining stories in the canon and hoped to achieve this before his 65th birthday in May 2011. Despite speculation of cancellation early in 2011, the remaining books were ultimately adapted into a thirteenth series, adapted in 2013 into 5 episodes, from which Curtain aired last on 13 November.
A 2013 television special, Being Poirot, centred on Suchet's characterisation and his emotional final episode.
In 2013, Suchet revealed that Christie's daughter Rosalind Hicks had told him she was sure Christie would have approved of his performance.
Agatha Christie's grandson Mathew Prichard commented: Personally, I regret very much that she [Agatha Christie] never saw David Suchet. I think that visually he is much the most convincing and perhaps he manages to convey to the viewer just enough of the irritation that we always associate with the perfectionist, to be convincing!
In 2008, the series was described by some critics as going off piste, though not negatively, from its old format. It was praised for its new writers, more lavish productions and a greater emphasis on the darker psychology of the novels. Significantly, it was noted for Five Little Pigs, adapted by Kevin Elyot, bringing out a homosexual subtext of the novel. Nominations for twenty BAFTAs were received between 1989 and 1991 for series 1-3.
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