God and the Little Grey Cells: Religion in Agatha Christie's Poirot Stories
Ebook
Dan W. Clanton, Jr. examines the presence and use of religion and Bible in Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels and stories and their later interpretations. Clanton begins by situating Christie in her literary, historical, and religious contexts by discussing “Golden Age” crime fiction and Christianity in England in the late 19th-early 20th centuries. He then explores the ways in which Bible is used in Christie's Poirot novels as well as how Christie constructs a religious identity for her little Belgian sleuth. Clanton concludes by asking how non-majority religious cultures are treated in the Poirot canon, including a heterodox Christian movement, Spiritualism, Judaism, and Islam.
Throughout, Clanton acknowledges that many people do not encounter Poirot in his original literary contexts. That is, far more people have been exposed to Poirot via “mediated” renderings and interpretations of the stories and novels in various other genres, including radio, films, and TV. As such, the book engages the reception of the stories in these various genres, since the process of adapting the original narrative plots involves, at times, meaningful changes.
Capitalizing on the immense and enduring popularity of Poirot across multiple genres and the absence of research on the role of religion and Bible in those stories, this book is a necessary contribution to the field of Christie studies and will be welcomed by her fans as well as scholars of religion, popular culture, literature, and media.
Examines the role of religion-and, more specifically, Bible-in Agatha Christie's novels and short stories featuring her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, as well as the films, television series, and other adaptations of those narratives.
Sheds light on the novels of Agatha Christie and Christie's own religion, as well as Belgian Catholicism in the 19th and 20th centuries
The first and only book that examines the role of religion and Bible in Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels and short stories as well as the later adaptations of these novels and stories in radio, film, and TV
Examines the use of the Bible in literary works and the impact of the Bible in culture
Acknowledgments
Author's Preface
Introduction
Part One: Literary and Historical Background
Chapter 1: Golden Age Crime Fiction and Agatha Christie
Chapter 2: Christianity in England and Agatha Christie
Part Two: The Bible in Christie's Poirot Stories
Chapter 3: Death on the Nile
Chapter 4: Evil Under the Sun
Chapter 5: The Prodigal Son
Part Three: Poirot, Religion, and Christianity
Chapter 6: Poirot's Religious Identity, Part 1: Background and Nine Themes
Chapter 7: Poirot's Religious Identity, Part 2: “The Chocolate Box” and Taken at the Flood
Chapter 8: Murder on the Orient Express
Chapter 9: The A.B.C. Murders
Chapter 10: Curtain
Part Four: “Other” Religions in Christie's Poirot Stories
Chapter 11: A Christian “Cult”
Chapter 12: Spiritualism
Chapter 13: Jews and Judaism
Chapter 14: Muslims and Islam
Conclusion
Appendix: Biblical Allusions and Quotations
Bibliography
Index
- Title: God and the Little Grey Cells: Religion in Agatha Christie's Poirot Stories
- Author: Jr. Dan W. Clanton
- Publisher: T&T Clark
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9780567696106, 9780567696076, 0567696073, 0567696103
- Resource ID: LLS:9780567696106
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-22T17:37:20Z
Dan W. Clanton, Jr. associate professor of religious studies at Doane University, USA.