Linnet Doyle (née Ridgeway) is a character from the 1937 mystery novel Death on the Nile and its adaptations. She is the first and central victim of the story. A young American socialite and heiress, Linnet in Egypt for her honeymoon with her newlywed husband Simon Doyle, who was also the ex-fiancé of Linnet's childhood friend Jacqueline de Bellefort. During a cruise on the Nile River, Linnet was killed during her sleep.
Character[]
Linnet Doyle was a very beautiful young woman, described having "bright golden hair and an eager confident face". She commanded attention wherever she goes and was accustomed to getting her way, despite the consequences and the effect it had on those around her. Her friend Joanna Southwood even had described her as a "beneficent tyrant" at one point, saying that she always got exactly what she wanted.
Through born into tremendous wealth and high social standing, Linnet was not blind to the world's workings. She was sharp, perceptive, and pragmatic--particularly in business matters and personal relationships. When discussing the passengers onboard the S.S. Karnak, Poirot and Mrs Allerton likened Linnet to the Queen in Alice in Wonderland ("Off with her head."), with a bit of the Naboth's vineyard touch.
But behind her status and icy, arrogant façade, Linnet was a deeply insecure and emotionally isolated person. While her beauty and wealth did draw admiration, it also brought her envy and duplicity. She was never able to form genuine connections without the underlying presence of personal gain from the other party.
Biography[]
Linnet was the daughter of Melhuish and Anna Ridgeway (nee Hartz). Through her mother's side, Linnet was also the granddaughter of American millionaire Leopold Hartz.
Role in the story[]
At the beginning of the novel, Linnet Ridgeway had recently purchased Wode Hall, near Malton-under-Wode, from the bankrupted Sir George Wode. Her friend, Jacqueline de Bellefort, suggests that Linnet hires her fiancé Simon Doyle to be the land agent of her new estate. Linnet liked Simon, and gave him the job.
After some period of time, Linnet later married Simon, and they went to Egypt for their honeymoon. At the Cataract Hotel in Assuan, Linnet approached Poirot, and asked him to take up her case. When he said that he would not take cases while on holiday, Linnet said that it could be arranged, and spoke "with the quiet confidence of a young woman who had always been able to arrange matters to her satisfaction".
Linnet told Poirot that she was the subject of an "intolerable persecution". She explained that after Simon broke off his engagement to Jacqueline and married her, Jacqueline, whom she called Jackie, had been stalking them. Linnet said that there must be some kind of legal redress against such a thing, but Poirot told her that Jacqueline was within her rights, as she had not threatened them in actual words, attempted bodily harm, or forced herself on their privacy.
Poirot suggested that the reason Linnet found Jackie's stalking intolerable was because she felt a sense of guilt. He suggested that Linnet had deliberately set out to take Simon from Jackie, and that there was a moment when she realised that she had a choice, to refrain or go on, but she chose to go on.
Linnet asked Poirot to talk to Jackie, and he agreed to do so, although he declined any commission from her.
At the beginning of the cruise on the Karnak, Linnet told Poirot that she was afraid, and that everyone hated her. She said that except for Simon, she was surrounded by enemies.
During the cruise, one of Linnet's trustees, Andrew Pennington, asked her to sign some documents, and she read each one carefully before signing, saying that her father taught her to do that. Mr Fanthorp complimented her on this, saying that to never sign a document without reading it through first is admirable.
Linnet had a near escape at the temple of Abu Simbel, when a boulder rolled down the cliff. It would have crushed her, if Simon had not dragged her to safety in time.
That night, Linnet and Simon played bridge in the saloon, with Colonel Race and Andrew Pennington.
The following morning, Linnet's maid, Louise Bourget, found her dead. She had been shot in the head at close quarters, with the bullet entering just above the ear. There was no sign of a struggle, suggesting that she had been shot while she was asleep.
Death[]
Spoilers! Do not continue reading if you haven't read the book all the way!
She was murdered by her husband Simon Doyle who was working together with his former lover Jacqueline de Bellefort, who was Linnet's old friend.
For more information on the crime, consult Jacqueline de Bellefort's page.
In other media[]
Film and television[]
Death on the Nile (1978)[]
In the 1978 film, Linnet was portrayed by American actress Lois Chiles.
Agatha Christie's Poirot: Death on the Nile (2004)[]
In the third episode of Series 9 of Agatha Christie's Poirot, Linnet Ridgeway was played by British actress Emily Blunt.
Death on the Nile (2020)[]
In the 2020 film adaption, Linnet (played by Israeli actress Gal Gadot) meets with her childhood friend Jackie de Bellefort in a London club to introduce her to her fiancé Simon Doyle. After meeting him, Linnet agrees to hire him as a land agent. About six weeks later after their first meeting, Linnet and Simon marry in Egypt and invites their guests to a cruise on the Nile River during their honeymoon.
Portrayals[]
- In the 1978 film adaptation of the novel, Linnet was portrayed by American actress Lois Chiles. Unlike the original novel, many more people on the S. S. Karnak had a grudge against her and the list of plausible suspects is much longer. Dr Bessner refers to Linnet as "the young kaugummi heiress". Kaugummi means chewing gum and suggests that her father's main source of wealth was in the manufacture of chewing gum. This is not found in the original novel.
- In Agatha Christie's Poirot episode, Linnet was portrayed by actress Emily Blunt.
- In the 2020 film, Linnet was portrayed by Israeli actress Gal Gadot.