The Pale Horse

To understand the strange events at The Pale Horse inn, Mark Easterbrook knew he had to begin at the beginning. But where exactly was the beginning? Was it the savage blow to the back of Father Gorman's head? Or the priest's visit, just minutes before, to a woman on her death bed? Or was there a deeper significance to the violent squabble which Mark Easterbrook had himself witnessed earlier?

Year: 1961
Detective: Ariadne Oliver
Location: England

Cast of characters

Mrs. Ariadne Oliver. Also: David Ardingly, C.R. Bradley, Eileen Brandon, Dr. Jim and Katherine (Ginger) Corrigan, Rev. Caleb and Maud Dane Calthorp, Mrs. Jesse Davis, Colonel John Hugh Despard, Rhoda Dawes Despard, Mark Easterbrook, Lou Ellis, Father Gorman, Thyrza Grey, Detective-Inspector Lejeune, Milly, Hermia Redcliffe, Sybil Stamfordis, Pamela (Poppy) Stirling, Thomasina Tuckerton, Mr. Venables, Bella Webb, Zachariah Osbourne

Publishing history

Publishing: The novel was published in 1961 by William Collins Sons & Co. in London, and in 1962 by Dodd, Mead & Co. in New York. TV: Adapted by Anglia TV in the UK in 1996. The novel has not been adapted for the stage.

Notes and reviews

The novel is the only one in which Ariadne Oliver solves a crime in the absence of Hercule Poirot.

Murder methods:

One Poisoning.

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