The Mystery of the Blue Train: Agatha Christie’s Poirot Case of Stolen Rubies on the Riviera Express
The daughter of an American millionaire has been married for ten years to a man she does not love, and her father, wanting her to be happy, advises her to seek a divorce. That way he would be ruined and she would finally be free. To cheer her up, her father gives her some precious stones: a set of rubies.
Author: Agatha Christie (1890–1976)
Title: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
Format: English paperback (HarperCollins), 320 pages
Scope: Hercule Poirot novel
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/0008129487 (ASIN 0008129487)
A Journey to the Riviera
Ruth Kettering, the millionaire Rufus Van Aldin’s daughter, prepares to travel to France on the famous Blue Train, taking her maid with her. By coincidence, Katherine Grey is travelling in the same carriage and chats with her. Later, at dinner, Katherine meets Hercule Poirot, a detective supposedly in retirement. As usual, his rest ends almost before it has begun.
Murder and a Missing Jewel
The murder, and the theft of the rubies, are discovered as soon as the train reaches its destination. Several stories unfold in parallel, and we get to know the character of many of the people in the novel. As soon as he hears the news, the young woman’s father decides to join Poirot in his investigation.
Le Train Bleu
The train in the title was real. The Calais–Méditerranée Express, nicknamed the Train Bleu after the colour of its sleeping cars, carried wealthy travellers overnight from the Channel coast to the Riviera, and in the 1920s it was a symbol of luxury and glamour. Christie captures that world vividly: millionaires, aristocrats, dancers and adventurers all heading south for the winter season in Nice and Monte Carlo.
A Book Written in Hard Times
Christie wrote the novel during one of the most difficult periods of her life, after her mother’s death, the breakdown of her first marriage and her famous eleven-day disappearance in 1926. She later admitted that she disliked the book and had written it simply because she needed the money. Many readers disagree with her: it has energy, colour and a cleverly constructed solution, even if the plot is more sprawling than her best work.
From Short Story to Novel
The central idea, a wealthy woman murdered on a train and her jewels stolen, comes from Christie’s earlier short story "The Plymouth Express". Expanding it into a novel, she added the Riviera setting, the legendary "Heart of Fire" rubies and a gallery of new characters, turning a neat puzzle into a full-scale society mystery.
Katherine Grey
One of the book’s pleasures is Katherine Grey, a sensible young woman who has spent years as a paid companion in the village of St Mary Mead and suddenly inherits a fortune. Her clear-eyed view of the glittering people around her provides a fresh point of view, and she makes an excellent companion for Poirot. Readers of Christie will recognise St Mary Mead as the village later made famous by Miss Marple.
Poirot on Television
The novel was adapted for Agatha Christie’s Poirot in 2006, with David Suchet, although the television version changes several elements of the plot, so the book still holds surprises for viewers.
A Reader’s Note
The novel also introduces Poirot’s new valet, George, and shows the detective enjoying semi-retirement on the Riviera, a lighter, sunnier side of him that fans tend to enjoy.
It is pure escapism, and none the worse for it.
Why Read It
With an ending that is anything but predictable, this novel keeps the reader in suspense until the very last moment. It is also one of the most glamorous Poirot settings, with luxury trains, jewels and the French Riviera.
As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases.
Part of the reading recommendations featured on books.sapiensverbum.com.
