Edith de Haviland is a character and overarching protagonist of the 1948 novel Crooked House. Edith resides at Three Gables with her former brother-in-law Aristide Leonides, husband of her late sister Marcia, and his family.
Miss de Haviland knew Charles Hayward's grandmother and had met his father when he was a child.
Plot[]
Edith is a spinster, she is repressed and bitter in behaviour, she spends her time on the estate shooting pests, she came to Three Gables to raise her sister's children with Aristide. She is now 70 and personally hated the way Aristide controls his family.
She takes her great niece Josephine out in the car for a ice cream soda, however she drives off a cliff killing both of them. In a letter to the police she took responsibility for the murders that had been committed. However a second letter for the family reveals that she found Josephine's notebook in a dog kennel and killed them both to protect the little girl from jail or mental hospitals.
Portrayals[]
- In the 2017 film adaptation, Edith was portrayed by American actress Glenn Close.