Madame Joilet

In the novel 4.50 from Paddington, Madame Joilet runs the "Ballet Maritski" based in Paris. Anna Stravinska was a member of this troupe.

Madame Joilet is described as a "brisk business-like Frenchwoman with a shrewd eye, a small moustache, and a good deal of adipose tissue". She dislikes the police, as she feels that they always cause her embarrassments.

Madame Joilet tells Armand Dessin and Inspector Craddock that Anna had a French passport, but had mentioned once that she had an English husband. However, she had never mentioned a son.

Madame Joilet had taken the ballet company to England for six weeks. They played at Torquay, Bournemouth, Eastbourne, and Hammersmith. When they returned to France after that, Anna did not go with them. Instead, she sent a message saying that she was leaving the company, and was going to live with her husband's family. Madame Joilet thought that this was not true, and thought it more likely that Anna had met a man.

When she is told that the police think Anna may have been murdered, Madame Joilet says that Anna was a good Catholic. She went to Mass on Sundays, and to confession.

Madame Joilet also gives the names of a few girls in the ballet company who were friends with Anna. However, these girls are not able to provide the police with much useful information, as they said that Anna had not been one to talk about herself much, and when she did, it was mostly lies.

Portrayals
In BBC's 1987 adaptation of 4.50 from Paddington, the character's name is changed slightly to "Madame Joliet" and her troupe is "Ballet Maritska". Although she speaks French to her dancers, it is likely that she is British, as at one point during a rehearsal she says "bloody shambles". She gave Inspector Duckham some important background information about Anna Stravinska. According to Joliet, Anna was older than most of the other girls and not a particularly good dancer but she at least she kept herself fit. She had "some man" in the past and she was a deeply religious catholic. From Madame Joliet's records, Inspector Duckham was able to discover that Anna's real name was "Martine Isabel Perrault".

In ITV's 2004 adaptation of 4.50 from Paddington, the part of Madame Joilet is played Celia Imrie.

In Le Crime est notre affaire the 2008 French adaptation by Pascal Thomas, the parallel character is Margaret Brown.