Character guide

Roger Sheringham

major

Also known as Roger, Sheringham, Mr. Sheringham

A detective and member of the Crimes Circle, central to solving the poisoned chocolates case.

Sir Charles Wildman

major

Also known as Sir Charles, Mr. Bradley, Bradley

A barrister and member of the Crimes Circle who presents a theory about the case.

Mr. Graham Bendix

major

Also known as Graham Bendix, Bendix, Mr. Bendix

A club member whose wife was poisoned by the chocolates, a key figure in the investigation.

Sir Eustace Pennefather

major

Also known as Sir Eustace

A retired police commissioner and member of the Crimes Circle who offers his own theory.

Miss Dammers

major

A member of the Crimes Circle, a sharp-witted woman who contributes to the debate.

Mr. Ambrose Chitterwick

major

Also known as Mr. Chitterwick, Chitterwick

A timid but clever member of the Crimes Circle who eventually solves the case.

Mrs. Fielder-Flemming

supporting

Also known as Mrs. Fielder, Flemming

Mrs. Fielder-Flemming belongs to Roger Sheringham's exclusive Crimes Circle, where membership demands both encyclopedic knowledge of real cases and genuine deductive flair. Her contribution to the poisoned chocolates puzzle leans on psychological insight into marital resentment, a theory she presents with the confidence of someone who has studied human weakness as closely as criminal method. She matters because her perspective pushes the Circle beyond dry forensics into the messier territory of motive and desire.

Chief Inspector Moresby

supporting

Also known as Moresby, Inspector Moresby

Chief Inspector Moresby arrives at the Crimes Circle dinner as guest of honor, a tolerant professional among enthusiastic amateurs who fancy themselves his intellectual superiors. He has already done the unglamorous police work—interviewing porters, tracing taximen, fishing a chocolate wrapper from a wastepaper basket—and his methodical account of the case grounds the evening's speculation in stubborn reality. His quiet competence becomes the baseline against which every armchair theory must be measured.

Mrs. Verreker-le-Mesurer

supporting

Mrs. Verreker-le-Mesurer earned her place among Roger Sheringham's hand-picked criminologists by demonstrating constructive mental ability, not merely morbid curiosity. Her approach to the Bendix poisoning favors the tangled why of human behavior over the mechanical how, and she is not shy about advancing a psychological reading of the crime. She represents the Circle's conviction that understanding a murderer's mind matters as much as tracing his poison.

Morton Harrogate Bradley

supporting

Also known as Mr. Morton Harrogate Bradley, Bradley

Morton Harrogate Bradley occupies the uncomfortable position of a man whose circumstances invite suspicion, whether or not he deserves it. In a case where poisoned chocolates arrived by post and killed the wrong person, any connection to the Bendix household becomes a thread worth pulling. The Crimes Circle's members return to him repeatedly as they test their theories, making him a fixed point around which their speculations turn.

Lady Pennefather

minor

Also known as the present Lady Pennefather

Sir Eustace's wife, mentioned in connection to the case.

Alicia Dammers

minor

Also known as Alicia

Miss Dammers' niece, a young woman involved in the case.

Joan Bendix

minor

Also known as Joan, poor Joan

The murdered woman, wife of Graham Bendix, who died from poisoned chocolates.

Miss Wildman

minor

Also known as the negligible Miss Wildman

Sir Charles' daughter, a minor character in the story.

Mr. President

minor

The president of the Crimes Circle who moderates the discussion.

Vera Delorme

minor

Also known as Miss Delorme, a Miss Vera Delorme

An actress and possible suspect in the poisoning.

Mr. Cornish

minor

Also known as Cornish

A club member who provides information about the case.

Dr. Wilson

minor

Also known as Wilson

A doctor who examined the poisoned chocolates.

Pauline Pennefather

minor

Also known as Pauline

Sir Eustace's daughter, briefly mentioned.

Farrar

minor

A servant or employee at the club, mentioned in passing.

Mason

minor

Also known as Mason & Sons, Mr. Mason

The confectioner who made the poisoned chocolates.

Webster

minor

A name mentioned in connection to the case, possibly a servant.

Taylor

minor

Also known as a Taylor

A name referenced in the investigation.

Mabel

minor

A maid or servant in the Bendix household.

Barnet

minor

A name mentioned in the context of the case.

Molineux

minor

A name referenced in the investigation.

Harfield

minor

A name mentioned in connection to the case.