In the short story The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly, Jessie Withers was the nurse of Johnnie Waverly. Along with many members of the Waverly household staff, she was dismissed on the morning of the day some kidnappers had warned would be the day Johnnie was to be kidnapped. Although bitterly resentful of the way she had been dismissed, she admitted to Poirot that she had been in the wrong. There had been one occasion when she had abandoned her post and left Johnnie unguarded. This was when her fiance, a painter/decorator was in the area and she ran out to meet him.
Jessie Withers lived (after her dismissal) at 149 Netherall Road, Hammersmith. Poirot and Hastings went to interview her after agreeing to help in the case of Johnnie Waverly's kidnapping. Hastings observed that she was a pleasant faced woman of thirty-five, capable and superior.
Jessie would go on to be a popular name with Christie, this character being the earliest. The characters come from a variety of backgrounds and there are even two with the same surname.
Portrayals[]
Jessie Withers was played by Carol Frazer in the film adaptation of the story in episode 3 of Series 1 of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot drama series. Although she was "Miss Jessie Withers" in the original story, she was consistently addressed as "Mrs Withers" in the episode. Her role in the case is also considerably enhanced. In the adaptation, she became the niece of the butler Tredwell. She handed an incriminating parcel to a tramp Joe Rogers with instructions to approach the estate at 10 to 12 in order to create a diversion. She also looked after Johnnie in a cottage away from the estate during the time he was supposed to have been "kidnapped".
In L'étrange enlèvement du petit Bruno, the TV film adaptation of the novel by France Télévisions, the parallel character is Régine Bouchon. She has an even more active role in the kidnapping.