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A character in The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Dr Bauerstein

The London toxicologist convalescing in the village, who walks with Mary Cavendish and is arrested for something else.

What they want

To go unnoticed, which a German name in an English village in wartime makes impossible.

The book

The Mysterious Affair at StylesAgatha Christie, 1920

Agatha Christie's first novel, written on a bet in a wartime dispensary, and the first appearance of Hercule Poirot.

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At a glance

In the book
Toxicologist; a neighbour
Where he appears
Chapters 3 to 9

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Bauerstein is a specialist in poisons who happens to be recovering his health near Styles, and happens to be at the house on the night Mrs Inglethorp dies of strychnine. He identifies the poison at once. His walks with Mary Cavendish are noticed. Hastings suspects him with enthusiasm, and Poirot has him arrested, for espionage.

How Dr Bauerstein Is Portrayed

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

  • The expertiseA toxicologist, and the first to name strychnine at the bedside.
  • The walksWith Mary Cavendish, and the village's favourite piece of gossip.
  • The nightAt the house late on the evening of the death, in muddy clothes.
  • The arrestTaken by the police for spying, to Hastings's astonishment and Poirot's satisfaction.
Their ending, and the commentary — spoilers aheadHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Bauerstein was a German spy and nothing to do with the murder. Mary's walks with him were her way of punishing John.

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