Ariadne Oliver appears in seven novels, six with Hercule Poirot, and two short stories contained within Parker Pyne Investigates. A middle-aged woman and successful detective novelist.; she is described as “handsome in a rather untidy fashion, with fine eyes, substantial shoulders, and a large quantity of rebellious grey hair with which she was continuously experimenting”. She is a feisty character and believes that Scotland Yard would be better run by a woman! It has often been suspected that she is a caricature of the author herself and seems to express a certain dislike of her character that is not dissimilar to that voiced by Agatha Christie about Poirot.
Stage
Cards on the Table was adapted for the stage and opened at the Vaudeville Theatre, London in 1981, Hercule Poirot and Colonel Race were omitted from the play.
TV & Film History
Mrs McGinty’s Dead was adapted for film by MGM in 1964 and released as “Murder most Foul” with Hercule Poirot replaced by Miss Marple and played by Margaret Rutherford.
The Agatha Christie Hour (1982) was a series of ten one-hour long dramas produced for Thames TV, London included an episode based on the short story The Case of the Discontented Soldier, featuring Ariadne Oliver and Parker Pyne. Directed by Michael Simpson.
Dead Man’s Folly was adapted for television by Warner Brothers in 1986, starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot and Jean Stapleton as Ariadne Oliver.
Cards on the Table is one of the new Poirot TV films scheduled for broadcast on A&E in December 2005, starring the inimitable David Suchet as Poirot and Zoe Wanamaker as Ariadne Oliver
Also see Poirot TV & Film section
Booklist
Parker Pyne Investigates (1934)
Cards on the Table (1936)
Mrs McGinty’s Dead (1952)
Dead Man’s Folly (1956)
The Pale Horse (1961)
Third Girl (1966)
Hallowe’en Party (1969)
Elephants Can Remember (1972)