Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie Essay

Hickory Dickory Dock is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first print in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on October 31, 19551 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and fraternity in November of the same year under the title of Hickory Dickory Death23. The UK edition retailed at ten shillings and tanner (10/6)1 and the US edition at $3.003. It features her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The fresh is notable for featuring Poirots efficient secretary, little girl Felicity Lemon, who had previously only appeared in the Poirot short stories.Plot introductionAn outbreak of apparent kleptomania at a learner hostel is not normally the sort of crime that arouses Hercule Poirots interest. But when he sees the bizarre list of stolen and vandalized items including a stethoscope, some lightbulbs, some old flannel trousers, a box of chocolates, a slashed rucksack, some boracic pulverize and a diamond ring later found in a bowl of a soup he congratulates the warden, Mrs Hubbard, on a unique and beautiful conundrum. It is nevertheless not long before the crime of theft is the least of Poirots concerns.Explanation of the novels titleThe title is taken, as are other of Christies titles, from a nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock. This is nevertheless one of her most tenuous links to the original nursery rhyme, consisting of little more(prenominal) than the name of a road.Plot summaryPoirots solution of the petty thefts is unsubtle but impelling once he has threatened to call in the guard, Celia Austin quickly confesses to the pettier amongst the incidents. She denies specifically stealing Nigel Chapmans green ink and using it to deface Elizabeth Johnstons work taking the stethoscope, the light bulbs and boracic powder and cutting up and concealing a rucksack. Celia appears to prepare committed the lesser thefts in order to pull out the management of Colin McNabb, a psychology student who at first regards her as an interesting case study, and whence almost immediately becomes engaged to her. Celia makes restitution for the crimes and is seemingly reconciled with her victims, but when she is spy the following aurora dead from an overdose of morphia it does not take the investigators long to see through attempts to make her remnant seem like suicide. Several of the original incidents have not been solved by Celias confession.examiner Sharpe quickly solves the mystery of the stolen stethoscope during his interviews with the inhabitants of the hostel. Nigel Chapman admits to having stolen the stethoscope in order to pose as a doctor and steal the morphine tartrate from the hospital dispensary as part of a bet to acquire three deadly poisons. He claims that these poisons were consequently carefully disposed of, but cannot be sure that the morphine was not stolen from him while it was in his possession. Poirot turns his attention to the reappearance of the diamond ring, and confronts Valerie Hobhouse, in whose soup the ring was found. It seems that the diamond had been replaced with a zircon and, given the position that it was difficult for anyone but Valerie to have put the ring into the soup, Poirot accuses her of having stolen the diamond.She admits to having done so, saying that she needed the money to impart off gambling debts. She also admits to having planted in Celias mind the entire idea of the thefts. Mrs. Nicoletis has been behaving precise nervously, as if she were losing her nerve. One night someone gets her drunk and kills her. Poirot focuses his attention now on the cutting up of the rucksack. By comparing an example of the rucksack type destroyed with others, he identifies an unusual corrugated base, and suggests to the police that the rucksack may have been part of a clever international import operation. The rucksacks were sold to aboveboard students, and then exchanged as a means of transporting drugs and gems. Mrs. Nicoletis had been bankrolling the organisation, but was not the b rain behind it. When the police visited Hickory lane on an unconnected issue, the liquidator had cut up the rucksack to avoid its be found and removed light bulbs to avoid being recognised. Patricia Lane comes to Nigel and admits that, in an effort to keep a dangerous poison safe, she has taken the morphine from the bottle in his drawer and substituted for it hydrogen carbonate of soda. Now, however, the bottle of hydrogen carbonate of soda has been taken from her own drawer.While they are searching for this bottle Patricia mentions that she is intending to write to his father in order to reconcile the two. Nigel tells her that the reason for his estrangement from his father is that he discovered that his father had poisoned his father. This is why he changed his name and carries two passports. Nigel comes to Inspector Sharpe and tells him about the missing morphine, but while he is there, Patricia telephones to say that she has discovered something further. By the time that Nig el and Sharpe get to the house, Patricia has been killed by a blow to the head. Mr. Akibombo comes to Sharpe and says that he had taken Patricias bicarbonate to ease a stomach complaint when he took a teaspoonful of the bicarbonate, however, he had stomach variant and later discovered that the white powder was in fact the boracic powder.By the time Patricia had substituted the bicarbonate, the morphine had already been substituted by the stolen boracic powder. Poirot, whose suspicions about Valerie Hobhouses role in the smuggling operation have been proved correct by a police raid on her beauty shop, now closes the case. The murderer has been the most obvious person, Nigel Chapman, who was known to have the morphine in his possession. He killed Celia because she knew about his dual individuality and also knew that Valerie travelled abroad on a false passport. He killed Mrs. Nicoletis because she was sure to give the smuggling operation away under pressure, and killed Patricia beca use she was likely to draw to his fathers attention the recent events.When Poirot outlines to Nigels fathers solicitor the case against Nigel, the solicitor is able to provide final proof. Nigels mother had been poisoned, not by his father, but by Nigel himself. When the father discovered this he forced him to write a confession and left it with his solicitor together with a letter explaining that it should be produced were there any evidence of further wrongdoing by his son. Valerie confirms Poirots solution further. She has placed the call to the police station, apparently from Patricia, later on Nigel had already killed her. The green ink was a double-bluff intended to divert suspicion away from him. Valerie is willing to impeach Nigel fully because Mrs. Nicoletis was actually her mother.Characters in Hickory Dickory Dock Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective Inspector Sharpe, the investigating officer Miss Felicity Lemon, Poirots secretary Mrs. Christina Nicoletis, the owner of the student hostel at Hickory alley Mrs Hubbard, Miss Lemons sister and the warden of Hickory street George, Poirots valet Celia Austin, chemist in the dispensary at St. Catherines Hospital Colin McNabb, a psychology student Nigel Chapman, a History student, a house physician at Hickory highway Valerie Hobhouse, a resident at Hickory Road and partner in a beauty shop Sally Finch, a student resident at Hickory Road Elizabeth Johnston, a student resident at Hickory Road Patricia Lane, a student resident at Hickory Road Genevieve, a student resident at Hickory Road Leonard Bateson, a student resident at Hickory Road Mr. Chandra Lal, a student resident at Hickory Road Mr. Akibombo, a student resident at Hickory Road Maria, the cook at Hickory Road Geronimo, Marias husband