In the novel Sparkling Cyanide, George Barton was the husband of Rosemary. He was a typical "city gentleman" and a wealthy businessman, but also considered among his acquaintances as someone who was dull and uninteresting. An old neighbour Colonel Johnnie Race thought of him as "the essence of stodginess—cautious, practical, unimaginative". Iris Marle, the sister of Rosemary, thought of him as "kindly, pleasant but definitely dull". She wondered why her sister had married George, given that he was fifteen years older than her.
The main plot of the novel centres around a dinner he had organised for his wife. When she died during the dinner it was commonly accepted that she had committed suicide. However some time later, he received anonymous notes claiming that she had been murdered. Wanting to find out the truth, George organised a second dinner on the anniversary of his wife's death but also ended up dying in fairly similar circumsances. Finding out what happened constitutes the main plot of the story.
George had asked Rosemary to marry him, but had not done it with any conviction. He told her that he was always there, and that he knew he had not got an earthly chance, but that he just wanted to mention it. He had never had any hope, and so was incredulous when she eventually said that she was going to marry him.
George had schooled himself to accept Rosemary's flirtations and love affairs. He would hold firm to the belief that they would not last, and that she would come back to him. However, when she began having a serious affair, he had sensed the difference in her.
George had come into Rosemary's sitting-room one day, and she had covered the page of the ketter she had been writing. He knew then that she was writing to a lover. After she had left the room, he had held the blotter up to the mirror, and seen the words she had written. He was so angry that he thought he would have liked to choke Rosemary, and murder her lover in cold blood.
After the death of her mother, Viola, Iris moved in with Rosemary and George. George was kind to Iris, "invariably affectionate and brotherly". He continued showing the same attitude to Iris after Rosemary's death. He asked Iris to continue living with him, and suggested that Lucilla Drake should also live with them, and chaperon Iris in society.
George later asked Iris if Lucilla saw to it that she got the sort of time she ought to have. He told Iris that they could get someone younger and more up to date to chaperon her, if she wanted, because he wanted her to enjoy herself. He told her to see that she got everything she wanted, with no need to stint expense. Iris was of the opinion that this was very like George, kind, awkward, and blundering.
When Lucilla's son, Victor Drake, asked for money, George provided the money himself, pretending to Lucilla that he was selling her shares. He explained to Iris that there was a black sheep in every family, and someone would always have to pay for them. When Iris pointed out that Victor was not George's relative, George said that Rosemary's family was his family.
After Rosemary's death, George became abstracted, and had "fits of inattention and brooding". He formed a habit of coming home early and shutting himself in the study. He later began to ask Iris questions about Rosemary, such as if Rosemary had ever mentioned being afraid of anyone.
George bought a house in the country, Little Priors. Iris thought that he had done this to get closer to the Farradays, who would be their neighbours in the country. She was also of the opinion that there was something queer about George, and that he seemed to be "labouring under a mixture of excitement interlarded with great spaces of complete apathy when he sunk in a coma".
George later showed Iris some anonymous letters he had received, which said that Rosemary had not committed suicide, but had been killed. He later showed the letters to Colonel Race, and said that he believed what the letters said, that Rosemary was murdered. Colonel Race advised him to go to the police with the letters, but George said that he was going to set a trap for the murderer instead. Colonel Race asked him to give up on this idea, but George refused.
George organised a dinner at the Luxembourg, to celebrate Iris' eighteenth birthday. He invited the same people who had been at the dinner at which Rosemary had died. He seated the guests in such a way as to have an empty place opposite him. After the cabaret, George stared at the empty chair, and was so absent-minded that he did not seem to hear what was said to him.
George later proposed a toast to Rosemary, for remembrance. After drinking the toast, he died. It is revealed that he had been poisoned with cyanide.
It is also revealed that George had hired Chloe West to come to the Luxembourg on the night of Iris' birthday dinner. He asked her to make up as Rosemary, and wearing a dress which he provided. She was to come in during the cabaret and sit down at his table, where there would be an empty place. However, someone had called Chloe on that evening and told her that the plan was off. This was why George had stared at the empty chair after the cabaret, because his plan had gone wrong.
Portrayals[]
Sparkling Cyanide (1983)[]
In the 1983 Warner Bros adaptation, George Barton is portrayed by Josef Sommer. Here he is the corporate lawyer of the business empire of Eric Kidderminster (who has a larger role in the plot). Barton's role and actions in this adaptation are largely similar to that in the original novel.
Sparkling Cyanide (2003)[]
In ITV's 2003 adaptation of the novel, George Barton is portrayed by Kenneth Cranham. Here is a a self-made millionaire who had made his fortune in scrap metal and also the owner of a football club. Here, the first dinner was really to celebrate his acquisition of a new striker for his club Carl 'Fizz' Fitzgerald (a parallel of Anthony Browne). In this adaptation, Barton is portrayed as slightly more unpleasant and ruthless than elsewhere, but he is genuinely affectionate about Rosemary.
Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie[]
In Meurtre au champagne, the 2012 French adaptation by Escazal Films, the parallel character is Georges Leroy.