The Girdle of Hyppolita: a Hercule Poirot Short Story

Hercule Poirot #0.47

by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot has progressed to the ninth challenge in his effort to match the Labours of Hercules so extolled in Greek mythology. Hercules was instructed to obtain the girdle of the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. King Eurystheus planned to give it to his daughter Admeta.

Alexander Simpson, the owner of Simpson Art Galleries sent for Poirot. During the recent civil disobedience in London over the lack of employment, demonstrators were lying down at intersections and sitting-in at well known establishments like the Ritz and his gallery. A valuable Rubens painting had disappeared. Simpson is certain it will be found in France. Not that interesting to Poirot, but a paying client!

As he is packing for Paris, Chief Inspector Japp brings Poirot a much more interesting case. The 15-year-old daughter of a Church of England official has been kidnapped while on the train from Calais to Paris with other students. He can combine the two cases!

Surely Hyppolita comes into this in some fashion!

Librarian's note: this entry is for the story, "The Girdle of Hyppolita." Collections of short stories by the author can be found elsewhere on Goodreads. Individual entries for all Poirot short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Hercule Poirot Short Story."

Genres: Mystery, Agatha Christie, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Classics

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1939

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

How are art thieves connected with a schoolgirl who goes missing for a few hours on a field trip?
Poirot will help his old friend Inspector Japp find out.



A painting of The Girdle of Hyppolita has been stolen! Poirot takes the job and in the meantime figures out what happened to a schoolgirl who was found drugged and wandering along the side of the road. How are these stories interconnected? Well, the answer to that lies in some missing shoes.
It's an alright story, but I never connected with any of the characters in it.

Originally published in 1939 in This Week magazine, then put together with 11 other stories in 1947 and published as The Labours of Hercules.
These 12 cases are chosen by Poirot as his own labors of Hercules that he will undertake before his supposed retirement.

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. A terrific little read. The story refers to the mythical Hercules and his effort to obtain the girdle of Amazon Queen Hyppolita. A task full of danger - the 9th challenge in the 'Labours of Hercules' and one, in its modern equivalent, just up the alley of Hercule Poirot. The story first appeared in 'This Week' in the States in 1939. It starts with a call to H.P. from a friend, Alexander Simpson of the Simpson Galleries. An expensive Rubens has been stolen. It's hard to refuse a friend, but our detective's little gray cells are not engaged! Then Chief Inspector Japp makes a surprise visit to ask Poirot's help on a puzzling case. Winnie King, a teenage girl from Cranchester off to an art and music finishing school in France, has disappeared somewhere between Amiens and Gare du Nord Station in Paris. Can Poirot go to Paris and work with Detective Inspector Hearn? This one's interesting. Two cases in Paris at the same time! There's an hilarious highlight. When asked if Winnie has a boyfriend, Japp replies, "If a romantic heart spirited her off that train, I'll take to reading lady novelists." As written by Agatha Christie! (May2021/Se2024)

[Catherine Vamianaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

an enjoyable read

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poirot is called to investigate a missing painting. He is also asked to investigate a girl's disappearance from a moving train. His interviews and deductions not only reveal how the girl disappeared, but where the painting of the Girdle of Hyppolita was hidden.

Where was the painting? Poirot took it from the headmistress of a prestigious girls' school. She had gotten it from the kidnapped girl as a gift. The girl had been kidnapped before arriving in London and the impersonator evaded detection by switching to a glamorous personage.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another brilliant success for Hercules. At first I thought it was going to be a repeat of another mystery short story I read recently where there is a kidnapping of a boy from a train and the key to it is the train slows down at one point. Luckily Christie does not do repeats and finds her own ingenuous method of solving the crime.

[Amy Knighton · Rating 2 out of 5]

The end was confusing.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather intriguing story revolving around a missing painting and a disappearing school girl on a train in France. An east read, rather nice to see the return of Inspector Japp in this story.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Hercule Poirot short story. Light and entertaining.

[Mike Lisanke · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great bit of detecting by Hercule here (this story). Who could imagine that a school girls kidnapping was disguise for transporting a stolen Ruben artwork, The Girdle of Hyppolita out of the locale of search. And it all worked Except the schoolmarm had removed/repacked the girl's luggage which carried the stolen work. And, at the end, Hercule is mobbed with the school's young girls wanting autographs. It's perfect.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poirot is on the path of a stolen Reubens painting in Paris. Inspector Japp shows up and has him look into a missing girl while he’s in the French capital. When it rains, it pours. Definitely recommended

[Joop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een korte HP die een diefstal oplost.

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is fun. Small character set and some interesting twists.

[Golden Age of Detective Fiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars!

Read my review here:

https://goldenageofdetectivefiction.c...

[Dennis Brock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with this story. Maybe it's me having an off day & not Dame Agatha. Love that Japp made an appearance! There's also a couple of really funny lines in this story.
2.5/5

[Emma Gallacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather slow, not so interesting…better stories in the Hercules collection

[Zhanna Mi · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the painting is missing and there is another painting involved, there is no wonder where the first one went