Crooked House

Brenda is Aristide’s second wife and the red herring of Crooked House’s mystery. Early suspicion around Aristide’s murder falls squarely onto her due to rumors of an affair with the live-in tutor Laurence. Young and beautiful, Brenda fits the archetype of a murderous young wife.

The Leonides family has hated Brenda since her marriage to Aristide. Their cruelty toward her highlights the pervasive importance of class in English high society. With her working-class background, Brenda is not of their ilk. She enjoys her newfound wealth in ways the Leonideses deem gaudy and classless. They need her to be guilty, as her conviction would lift the stain of scandal from the rest of the family. Yet no one at Three Gables can truly convince themselves of her guilt. After speaking with Brenda, Charles feels sympathy for her and worries that she’s being unfairly scapegoated.

The investigation eventually turns up love letters between Brenda and Laurence, who are arrested for Aristide’s murder until Edith’s false confession clears their names. Brenda suffers under false suspicion for the entirety of the novel when her only crimes were being from a lower class and falling in love with Laurence. Through her character, Christie delivers a warning about judging on appearances and jumping to conclusions.

Aristide is the patriarch of the Leonides family, presiding over two generations of descendants under the roof of Three Gables. A brilliant businessman born in Smyrna, Greece, Aristide amassed a fortune through his many businesses. Though he was not a criminal, he was “crooked.” He engaged in dubious business practices that toed the line of legality. He could be exacting and even violent, having stabbed two men in his youth. Still, he is a charismatic and beloved figure, admired by his children to the point of reverence.

Aristide is dead by the second chapter of Crooked House, victim of a poisoning murder at 85. As Charles infiltrates Three Gables, he discovers the way Aristide orchestrated the lives of his entire family. The younger Leonideses, lacking his confidence and charisma, fell in line to his strong personality. Though he loved them dearly, Aristide over-involved himself in their decisions and was too generous with his large fortune. As a result, they grew dependent on him and resentful toward one another.

Aristide’s perceptive intelligence allowed him to recognize that his granddaughter Josephine was not just odd but dangerous. During his life, he intentionally kept her out of school and away from society, likely exacerbating her antisocial personality.

The revelation that Aristide changed his will to leave everything to Sophia finally breaks his posthumous hold over his children and grandchildren. Disillusioned with their patriarch, the Leonides family members leave behind the relationships Aristide tried so hard to preserve and go their own ways.

Sophia is Aristide’s beloved grandchild and Charles’s fiancé. Sharp and dry-witted, Sophia is also image-conscious, refusing to marry Charles until her family is cleared of suspicion. She is clear-eyed enough to recognize the unhealthy family dynamics at Three Gables, but she cares too much about her family members to leave them behind in such a fraught situation.

The foil to Josephine’s bad seed, Sophia is the golden child of the Leonides family. In her, the best traits of the Leonideses and the de Havilands come together, making her both kind and moral. Aristide cherry-picks her as his heir and wants her to guide the other Leonideses after his death. He bequeaths his entire million-pound fortune to her in exchange for the responsibility of holding her dysfunctional family together. Sophia is willing to accept this duty even if it means never marrying or striking out on her own.

Sophia is ultimately freed from her obligation by the dissolution of the Three Gables household after Aristide’s death. She can travel away and marry Charles, pursuing her own happiness.