The Labours of Hercules

About “The Labours of Hercules”

The Labours of Hercules is a collection of detective short stories written by Agatha Christie and first published in the US in 1947. The stories feature Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who uses the mythological sequence of the Twelve Labours of Hercules to select his final cases. Each story corresponds to one of the labours, though the connections vary in strength. The collection includes appearances by Poirot’s regular companions, such as Miss Lemon and George, as well as Chief Inspector Japp. The stories were originally published in periodicals between 1939 and 1947. In the foreword, Poirot states his intention to carefully choose cases that follow the mythological order. Some stories have a tenuous link to the labours, while others are more directly connected. The final story, The Capture of Cerberus, mirrors the twelfth labour with almost self-satirical precision.