In the novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Dr Wilkins is the physician in the village of Styles St. Mary. He was summoned on the night Emily Inglethorp felt unwell, but arrived too late and she had already died. Dr Bauerstein who was there before him consulted with him and the two agreed that it was a case of poisoning. Subsequently, at the inquest, Wilkins dismissed the possibility of suicide. According to him, Emily Inglethorp had a weak heart but otherwise enjoyed perfect health, and was of a cheerful and well-balanced disposition. Wilkins also disagreed with the suggestion by Lawrence Cavendish that the tonic which Emily Inglethorp was taking and which contained strychnine could have resulted in cumulative poisoning. In such cases there would have been a long period of chronic symptoms which he would have spotted. As for the possibility of an overdoes, she would have had to take nearly the whole bottle of tonic at once to be in any danger.
Portrayals[]
Agatha Christie's Poirot[]
In the 1990 ITV adaptation of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Wilkins is portrayed by Michael Godley. His role is slightly enlarged here. In the early part of the episode he is shown having joined the territorial army as a cavalry officer and he bumps into Poirot. In this adaptation, Dr Bauerstein is not featured and so the plot elements associated with him are folded into Dr Wilkins. Here he is the one who takes an interest in poisons. He is the one who tells Mary Cavendish (so she reports) that owing to the ignorance of the more uncommon poisons among doctors, many poisonings go unnoticed. Lawrence Cavendish's remark that Bauerstein has a bee in his bonnet about poisons and sees them everywhere is not made about Wilkins.