Mary Battle

Mary Battle is the wife of Christie's recurrent character Superintendent Battle. She is first alluded to in The Secret of Chimneys when Eileen Brent says that Battle is married. But it is not until Towards Zero that her name "Mary" is mentioned. They have five children, and Sylvia is the youngest. In that novel, Battle's holiday plans are disrupted by an urgent case. Mary suggests canceling their planned holiday at Britlington. The rooms had already been booked many months before, so rather than waste them, Battle tells Mary to take the children for the holiday on her own. He himself would join their nephew James Leach at Saltington after his case.