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A character in Death on the Nile

Andrew Pennington

Linnet's American trustee, who happens to be in Cairo with a briefcase full of papers for her to sign.

What they want

Linnet's signature before she reads what she is signing.

The book

Death on the NileAgatha Christie, 1937

An heiress, her new husband and the friend she took him from, on a Nile steamer with nowhere to go but the next temple.

View the book

At a glance

In the book
Linnet's American trustee
Where he appears
Chapters 1 to 29

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Pennington hears of Linnet's marriage in New York and is on the next boat. He meets the Doyles in Cairo by what he calls a coincidence, and joins the Karnak with documents that need her signature. Linnet reads them, which is a problem for him. He is a large, pleasant, worried man, and he owns a pistol.

How Andrew Pennington Is Portrayed

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

  • The coincidenceIn Cairo by chance, he says; the first chapter has already shown the reader the booking.
  • The papersProduced at every opportunity; Linnet insists on reading them and Simon tells her not to bother.
  • The pistolA Colt in his cabin, which goes missing.
  • The cliffHe was above the temple at Abu Simbel when the boulder fell.
Their ending, and the commentary — spoilers aheadHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Pennington had been speculating with Linnet's money and needed her signature to cover it. He admits to trying to frighten her at Abu Simbel and had nothing to do with the murders. His pistol killed Salome Otterbourne in Jacqueline's hand.

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