Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes: two fictional detectives who are some of the most famous in the world. This section will compare the two.


Hercule Poirot
Creator: Agatha Christie

Assistant: Captain Arthur Hastings

Policeman Friend: Chief Inspector Japp

Brother: Achille Poirot

Hobbies: Reading mystery novels, growing vegetable marrows (cabbages)

Items: Cane, hat, lapel pin, moustache

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Creator: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Assistant: Doctor John Watson

Policeman Friend: Inspector Lestrade

Hobbies: Chemistry

Items: Hat, pipe, magnifying glass

Written Comparison

Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are very similar, and yet also very different. To begin with, the structure of the stories and the characters are very similar. There is a main detective (Poirot or Holmes), an assistant who also narrates the story (Hastings or Watson), and a baffled police officer who appears now and then (Japp or Lestrade.) Though the later Poirot stories varied from this formula (Hastings and Japp didn't appear), a good exaple of this is set in the early books and in the "Agatha Christie's Poirot" series with David Suchet.

Poirot and Holmes also both have special hobbies. Poirot professes in The Clocks that he has grown to like mystery novels (especially Sherlock Holmes)! Poirot apparently also likes gardening, as he briefly retires in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to grow "vegetable marrows" (cabbages.) Holmes, on the other hand, likes chemistry. He also retires to work on beekeeping.

Despite these similarities, the two also have some clear differences. Holmes is a much more physical man. A good example is in "The Empty House" when Holmes recalls how he struggled with Moriarty until he threw him into Reichenbach Falls. Poirot, on the other hand, rarely gets any exercise and hates to walk long distances.

The two detectives' methods can also vary at times. Often Poirot simply sits down and thinks about a case...and then solves it. Holmes, on the other hand, is often seen to be hunting on the ground for footprints or other clues. However, it is not always this way. Poirot, in some instances, follows the main method of Holmes (see picture from "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor" below). And Watson has described Holmes sitting completely still the whole night thinking about a case.