Sir Arthur Stanley

In the novel Hickory Dickory Dock, Sir Arthur Stanley was a noted research chemist who famous for his work in antibiotics. He was also the father of Nigel Chapman, one of the residents of the student hostel on Hickory Road owned by Christina Nicoletis. Nigel had however all along disowned his father and kept his relationship a secret.

Towards the end of the book, Sir Arthur fell ill and was in a critical condition. Patricia Lane who knew about Nigel's background urged him to be reconciled to his father. She had even written a letter to Sir Arthur about Nigel. Nigel however tore up the letter angrily. He claimed that he left home after his father had poisoned his mother to marry another woman. Thereafter Nigel changed his name to cut off all links.

Investigations by Poirot revealed however that the events were not as Nigel claimed. On the contrary, it was Nigel who had poisoned his mother after she had caught him forging cheques. His father, believing that his wife would not have wanted her son to be hanged for murder. So he forced Nigel to write out a confession and then made he leave the house, make a new life for himself and never return. Sir Arthur enclosed the confession in a letter to his solicitor Mr Endicott with instructions to open after his death. In this letter, Sir Arthur asked Endicott to trace Nigel and ascertain if he had led an upright life. If he had been involved in any criminal activity whatsoever, then Endicott was to hand the confession over to the police. In so doing, Sir Arthur believed he was giving Nigel a second chance and he believed he had every chance of making good.

Portrayals
In the 1995 ITV TV film adaptation, Sir Arthur Stanley is played by David Burke. The setting of the adaptation is moved back from the 1950s to the 1930s and Sir Arthur's backstory is changed entirely. Here he is a prominent politician who was well known for his contributions to the labour movement, his stand against Mussolini and his support of the Jarrow marchers (this real historical event is spun intricately into the plot). The side-plot of his covering up for his son Nigel's murder and his letter to Endicott are however retained. In addition, Sir Arthur had used his political influence to stop a young Japp from investigating too deeply into the death of his wife. A different plot device is used for how Patricia Lane stumbles onto Sir Arthur's relationship with Nigel. Here she studies politics instead of archaeology, She admires Sir Arthur and sneaks into his hospital room. There she learns the secret by perusing his family photo album.

While there is a real British politician named Sir Arthur Stanley (1869-1947), this is most likely not the person the portrayal in the film is intended to represent. For one thing, the real Sir Arthur died in 1947 whereas the fictional Sir Arthur dies during the film in 1936 (the date is fixed by the Jarrow March). Secondly, the real Sir Arthur was a Conservative MP and not known for his contributions to the trade union movement, opposition to Mussolini or his support of the Jarrow Marchers.

The parallel character for Sir Arthur Stanley in Pension Vanilos, the TV film adaptation of the novel by France Télévisions, is Eugène Moucadeau, also a famous biochemist.