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A character in And Then There Were None

William Blore

The former police inspector travelling as a South African called Davis, whose cover lasts one dinner.

What they want

To do the job he was hired for, and then to get off the island in one piece.

The book

And Then There Were NoneAgatha Christie, 1939

Ten strangers on an island off Devon, a nursery rhyme on the wall, and no detective coming to save anyone.

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At a glance

In the book
Former police inspector, now a private enquiry agent, travelling as Davis
Charged with
Perjury that sent James Landor to prison, where he died
Where he appears
Throughout to Chapter 15

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Blore arrives with a false name and a bad accent, hired to watch the other guests, and the record names him before the soup is cleared. He was a detective inspector, and he was paid, the voice says, to send an innocent man to prison, where the man died. He denies it once and then stops denying it.

He is the island's professional, and his professionalism is ordinary: he searches rooms, counts alibis, and suspects whoever seems oddest. He is stolid, brave in a plain way, and the book gives him a plain death.

How William Blore Is Portrayed

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • The aliasMr Davis of Natal, an identity that Lombard sees through on the boat.
  • The recordCharged with perjury that sent James Landor to prison, where he died a year later.
  • The methodSearches, timetables, suspicion of the odd one out; a policeman's reasoning with no evidence to work on.
  • The buildHeavy, square, and slow to move; the narration keeps him physical.
  • The lieHe is the last to admit what the record said of him, and admits it flatly when he does.
  • The lunchHe goes back to the house alone for food, against Lombard's advice.
Their ending, and the commentary — spoilers aheadHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Blore is killed by a marble clock in the shape of a bear, dropped on him from Vera's window as he passes beneath it on his way to the house. Wargrave, alive and hidden inside, dropped it. He was the eighth.

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