Emily Inglethorp

Lore & Background

Emily Inglethorp is the victim of the first mystery novel by British writer Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom on 21 January 1921. She is described as an elderly and wealthy woman in her 70s, who inherited her fortune and her home of Styles Court following the death of her first husband, Mr Cavendish. Her household includes her second husband, Alfred Inglethorp—a younger man she recently married—her stepsons John and Lawrence Cavendish, John's wife Mary Cavendish, Cynthia Murdoch, and Evelyn Howard. On the morning of 18 July, she is discovered to have died from strychnine poisoning. Poirot learns that on her death, John is to inherit the manor property according to his father's will, but her money will be distributed according to her own will, which she changes at least once a year. Her most recent will favours Alfred. On the day of the murder, Emily had been arguing with someone, suspected to be either Alfred or John, and was distressed after this, apparently making a new will that no one can find. She ate little at dinner and retired early to her room, taking her document case with her. When her body is found, the case had been forced open. Poirot later explains that Emily's distress on the afternoon of the murder was because she had found a letter in Alfred's desk while searching for stamps. Alfred forced open her document case when he realised she had the letter, then hid the letter elsewhere in the room. Thanks to a chance remark by Hastings, Poirot finds the letter in Emily's room, which details Alfred's intentions for Evelyn.

In Their Own Story

On the morning of 18 July, the Styles household wakes to the discovery that Emily Inglethorp has died. She had been poisoned with strychnine. Hastings ventures out to the nearby village of Styles St Mary to enlist help from his friend Hercule Poirot. Poirot learns that Emily had been arguing with someone on the day of the murder, suspected to be either Alfred or John. She had been distressed after this and apparently made a new will, but no one can find any evidence of it. Alfred left the manor early that evening and stayed overnight in the village. Meanwhile, Emily ate little at dinner and retired early to her room, taking her document case with her. When her body is found, the case had been forced open. Nobody can explain how or when the poison was administered to her. Poirot's investigations later establish that the murder was committed by Alfred Inglethorp, with aid from his cousin Evelyn Howard. They added bromide, obtained from her sleeping powder, to Emily's regular evening medicine. This caused the low level of strychnine in the medicine to precipitate to the bottom of the bottle, making the final dose lethal. Emily's document case was forced open by Alfred when he realised she had a letter from his desk. He then hid the letter elsewhere in the room to avoid being found with it. Thanks to a chance remark by Hastings, Poirot finds the letter in Emily's room. It details Alfred's intentions for Evelyn.

Reader's Guide

Emily Inglethorp appears as the victim in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, the first mystery novel by Agatha Christie, published in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom on 21 January 1921. She is the elderly and wealthy owner of Styles Court, in her 70s, who inherited her fortune and home after the death of her first husband, Mr Cavendish. Her household includes her second husband Alfred Inglethorp, stepsons John and Lawrence Cavendish, John's wife Mary, Cynthia Murdoch, and Evelyn Howard. She is murdered by strychnine poisoning on the morning of 18 July. Poirot's investigation reveals that her most recent will favours Alfred, and that she had been distressed after arguing with someone on the day of her death, apparently making a new will that cannot be found. The murder is committed by Alfred Inglethorp with aid from Evelyn Howard, who added bromide to Emily's evening medicine, causing strychnine to precipitate to the bottom of the bottle. Emily's document case was forced open by Alfred when he realised she had found a letter in his desk. The letter, detailing Alfred's intentions for Evelyn, is later found by Poirot in Emily's room thanks to a chance remark by Hastings.

Did You Know?

• Emily Inglethorp is in her 70s and inherited her fortune and home of Styles Court after the death of her first husband, Mr Cavendish.
• She changes her will at least once a year; her most recent will favours her second husband Alfred Inglethorp.
• On the day of her murder, she had been arguing with someone and apparently made a new will that no one can find.
• Her murder is committed by Alfred Inglethorp with aid from Evelyn Howard, who added bromide to Emily's evening medicine to cause strychnine to precipitate.
• Emily's document case was forced open by Alfred after she found a letter in his desk detailing his intentions for Evelyn.