The Chocolate Box

The Chocolate Box is a mystery short story written by Agatha Christie and first published in 1923.

Hercule Poirot tells Captain Hastings about the one case he regards as a failure, an investigation from his earlier career as a police officer in Belgium.

The retrospective structure gives the usually confident detective a more vulnerable role and reveals how he responds when his first solution proves wrong.

The case concerns the sudden death of Paul Déroulard, a prominent French politician living in Brussels. Although his death appears natural, Poirot investigates the possibility of poison, and the mismatched lids of two chocolate boxes become a crucial clue.

"It was a wild night. Outside, the wind howled malevolently, and the rain beat against the windows in great gusts. Poirot and I sat facing the hearth, our legs stretched out to the cheerful blaze. Between us was a small table. On my side of it stood some carefully brewed hot toddy; on Poirot's was a cup of thick, rich chocolate which I would not have drunk for a hundred pounds! Poirot sipped the thick brown mess in the pink china cup and sighed with contentment."