28. The Theft of the Royal Ruby

Air date: 24/02/1991
Published: First story in "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" (1960)

The Theft of the Royal Ruby is one of two Poirot stories set over Christmas - the other being the full novel-length "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" (of which more, later).

Originally written as the short story "Christmas Adventure", in 1923, it was developed by Agatha Christie into one of the longer novellas in the 1960 collection, "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding".

Poirot is approached by a Mr Jesmond (who holds some unidentified governmental role) to discreetly investigate the theft of a precious ruby, foolishly given by a foreign prince to a woman - who promptly disappeared with it.

For reasons that are not made clear in the original, Poirot is persuaded to spend Christmas with a family at their country home in an attempt to track it down. The guests include the rather unpleasant Desmond Lee-Wortley and his sister. Lee-Wortley is in a romantic liaison with Sarah, granddaughter of Mr and Mrs Lacey, who delight in keeping a very traditional Christmas.

When the jewel turns up in the Christmas pudding Poirot hangs on to it. He subsequently uses a faked stabbing (a game played on him by youngsters in the house) to smoke out Lee-Wortley, who makes off with what is, in reality, a paste copy of the jewel. It transpires that Lee-Wortley and the other woman (pretending to be his sister) had hurriedly hidden the jewel in a Christmas pudding made for New Year's Day when Poirot had turned up. However, when the Christmas day pudding is dropped on the floor the cook unfortunately uses the former for Christmas Day - ruining their hiding place.

There are some nice touches in the original, including Mrs Lacey's description of a traditional Christmas, which mirrors the description Agatha Christie gives of her own childhood Christmases in the book's Foreword.

The TV adaptation, by contrast, appears rather a rushed attempt to shoehorn in the essentials of what is a rather strained plot. It opens with a restaurant scene in which the prince (now identified explicitly as being from Egypt) allows an unidentified woman to wear the ruby. She disappears.

The central part of the plot is followed more or less faithfully, if in rather cut down form. In the original's finale we discover Poirot has allowed Lee-Wortley to make off with a paste. The TV version sees the return of that old favourite: the car chase. Lee-Wortley is apprehended at a local airport.

One curiosity. The original story features a white Christmas, whereas the TV adaptation doesn't. With "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" (four years later) it would be the other way round!