Hercule Poirot and the Salvation Army Part 2

Although Agatha Christie wrote "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook" in the 1920s, the Agatha Christie's Poirot TV series set their adaptation in the 1930s. Fans of the Downton Abbey series will remember this was a time of great societal change. The gentry could no longer employ large household staffs, and the common people were working in shops, factories, and offices instead.

With more free time, money, and independence, the way people socialized evolved. Young people frequented nightclubs, wore makeup, danced and drank, and explored sex outside of marriage. Agatha Christie charts this changing landscape in her Tommy and Tuppence mysteries. Her two young detectives, far more representative of this modern age in England than Hercule Poirot, stay up all night, and party hard.

Annie of Albert Mews, by English author Dee Williams, also shows this change occurring. At times the novel seems a little simplistic and preachy, as Annie's friend takes up the wild, loose living of the age. Her friend convinces her to try out this modern lifestyle, but Annie cannot help seeing it as decadent. Ultimately, Annie's friend completely loses her identity, and then her life, amid her soaring life of nonstop thrills. 

Saddened, seeking direction, Annie looks for greater meaning in her life, For a time, she finds it by becoming a volunteer for the Salvation Army.

Thankfully, we have Hercule Poirot to rely on. Although some recent adaptations suggest differently, Agatha Christie's famous detective didn't need the instruction and guidance of religious authorities to navigate this new, modern age. He'd seen the horrors of the Third Battle of Ypres. He'd survived the devastation of his country. He was an old fashioned figure, exemplifying the values of a previous age. He practiced temperance and moderation. He dressed smart, and was kind and considerate. He served as a beacon of gentility to a generation in flux.

Sadly, in "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook," even Inspector Japp can't see that. He'd come to recognize Poirot's wisdom as time goes on. But in this first episode--like everyone else--he's all too ready to dismiss him as a funny little Frenchy.

Dragon Dave

Hercule Poirot and the Salvation Army Part 1

In the Agatha Christie's Poirot adaptation of "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook," Eliza Dunn is walking home after her afternoon off. As a volunteer for the Salvation Army preaches to a few people on the street about the "stone that the builders rejected," a distinguished-looking man leaves the crowd to approach her. He tells her that he is a lawyer from Australia, who has traveled to England to find her.

As the man from the Salvation Army explains to the crowd that this stone, which the builders initially rejected, has become the cornerstone (or the most important stone in the building's foundation), the distinguished lawyer hands her an envelope containing the will of one of her relatives. In it, she will receive a legacy that will enable her to leave her employment as a cook, and own her own house in the country.

The gentleman from the Salvation Army is referring to Psalm 118: 22. The imagery refers to workers in a quarry, who look for the chief stone to use in a building's foundation. The gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke record Jesus quoting this verse, and identifying himself as the cornerstone that the Jewish leadership rejected. In Acts, Peter uses this verse to stress that Jesus is the cornerstone of the true faith, and salvation can only come through him.

This is just a little background in the scene. Most viewers would filter out the preacher's message, as Eliza Dunn relates this bit of backstory to Hercule Poirot. But it's a neat inclusion from screenwriter Clive Exton. Not only was the Salvation Army an important movement in 1930s Britain, but Eliza Dunn, who has worked all her life below-stairs for the gentry, and never been a person of importance, has suddenly become a woman of independent means.

Suddenly, she's somebody. She's more than just a poor employee who works nearly seven days a week. She can order her life, and make her own choices. She may not be a cornerstone of British society, but she's just become far more important than she has been up to now.

Or at least, so it would appear.

Dragon Dave