In the novella The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, Lady Abbie Chatterton of Cheriton Street is a friend of Margharita Clayton. Her husband is a member of the House of Lords. After Margharita's husband Arnold Clayton is found murdered, Lady Chatterton asks Poirot to help with solving the murder.
Poirot had a great deal of respect for Lady Chatterton. He regarded her as "one of the brightest jewels" in "le haut monde". "Everything she did or said was news. She had brains, beauty, originality and enough vitality to activate a rocket to the moon."
Abbie Chatterton is a reworking if the character Alice Chatterton from The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest, the short story from which the novella was expanded.
Portrayals[]
Lady Chatterton was played by Antonia Pemberton in the film adaptation of the story in Series 3 of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot. Her first name is Caroline. Her role is slightly different. She first meets Poirot at a performance of Rigoletto. She tells Poirot that she is worried that Edward Clayton is planning to kill his wife Marguerita (here renamed to Marguerite). She takes Poirot to the party at the house of Major Rich to meet Edward Clayton but he does not turn up. The next day, Edward is found dead inside the Spanish chest in the room where the party was. Poirot ends up being interviewed by Japp as a witness in the crime.