Anthony Marston - Agatha Christie Wiki - Fandom

Warning : This page about the character of Anthony Marston contains a large amount of revelation.

Anthony Marston

Personal details

Full name

Anthony James Marston

Alias(es)

Tony (nickname)

Age

30s

Origin

c. 1900s

Nationality

British

Status

Deceased

Died

August 1939

Cause of death

Poisoned

Professional & social status

Crimes committed

Manslaughter

Characteristics

Gender

Male

Appearances

First appearance

And Then There Were None (1939) Anthony “Tony” James Marston is a character from the 1939 mystery novel And Then There Were None. He was a young and adventurous man who enjoyed parties and driving in the countryside.

He was invited to Soldier Island, and was accused of killing John and Lucy Combes. In fact, his reckless driving caused the deaths of the two children near Cambridge. His car, a Super-Sports Dalmain, was described as "so fantastically powerful, so superlatively beautiful that it had all the nature of an apparition". Fred Narracott noted that it was one of the few times that a car like that had ever appeared in Sticklehaven.

Anthony Marston first appears when driving to Soldier Island. He rushed with his car past Dr Armstrong who turned out to be one of the guests and criticized him for his reckless driving. He was later driven to Soldier Island by one local boatman Narracott.

Marston was a friend of "old horse" Badger Berkeley, who had gone to Norway for a short period of time. The killer used Badger's name to lure Anthony into the island.

Contents

• 1 Characteristics
• 2 Background
• 3 Spoilers ahead
• 4 In other media
  • 4.1 Film
  • 4.2 Television
  • 4.3 Computer and video games

Characteristics[]

Anthony Marston is described to be a very handsome man, with a well-proportioned body, crisp hair, tanned face, blue eyes and looking like a Norse god. He is six feet tall and maintains a well kept appearance, wearing expensive clothing and jewelry as an indication of his status.

Background[]

Anthony Marston was born into a wealthy family and had a sheltered upbringing. He enjoyed partying and driving at incredible speeds in the countryside in his prized Super Sports Dalmain.

On the night of 14th of November, 1938, one year before the events on Soldier Island, Marston was driving near Cambridge. Suddenly two children, John and Lucy Combes, stepped out in front of him. Despite his best efforts, Marston ended up hitting the two youths, killing them instantly. Although Anthony was clearly the one at fault, he was ultimately not prosecuted. A few of his wealthy friends intervened on his behalf, ensuring that he was not banned from driving indefinitely or charged with manslaughter. In the end, Marston's license was suspended for one year, much to his annoyance, and the Combes family were denied justice.

Spoilers ahead[]

After dinner at Soldier Island a gramophone recording accused everyone of murder and pointed out that Marston had killed the Combes children earlier that year. Judge Lawrence Wargrave decided that the group should have left the island as soon as possible, but Marston didn't seem to agree. He died immediately after drinking a cyanide laced drink, thus making it U. N. Owen's first murder victim.

General Macarthur suggested that his death was probably an accidental choking but, Dr Edward Armstrong said that the glass contained cyanide. Another hypothesis was that he must have killed himself, but this one too wasn't valid since he wasn't a "suicidal type".

The culprit killed Marston first because the death of the Combes children was accidental yet Marston felt no remorse for what he had done. The next deaths were of the more cold-blooded murderers, like a governess who allowed a child to drown, a spinster who led a young girl to suicide, or Mr Blore who made someone innocent die in prison.

In other media[]

Film[]

• In the 1945 film adaptation, Marston was changed to Prince Nikita Starloff, a Russian aristocrat. He was accused of the murders of a young couple. He was portrayed by Mischa Auer.
• In the 1959 TV film Ten Little Indians, the character's name was changed to Frederick James Marston and was played by Chandler Cowles.
• In the 1965 film Ten Little Indians, the character is renamed to Michael "Mike" Raven, a young American entertainer, and was responsible for the deaths of William and Liza Stern. He was played by American singer and actor Fabian.
• In the 1974 film adaptation Ten Little Indians, the character was changed to Michel Raven, entertainer. He was accused of having run over two people in Paris while driving under the influence of alcohol. He was played by Charles Aznavour.

Television[]

• In the 2015 BBC television miniseries, Tony Marston is portrayed by Douglas Booth. He remains mostly faithful to the original novel, with the addition of him being a drug addict. He was one of the first guests to arrive at the island alongside Emily Brent. He later speaks with Lombard about how nobody cared about World War I anymore. He also remarked how nobody would notice if the old people disappeared. Just like in the original novel, Anthony rushed past Dr Armstrong with his car. However in this adaptation Armstrong recognized his car and made a scene at dinner.

Computer and video games[]

• In the 2005 point-and-click adventure computer game Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None, Anthony Marston's role remains the same as in the novel. According to Wargrave, Marston was the son of a Duke. It is also mentioned by Wargrave that Marston may have connections with the Nazi Party. He was voiced by Peter Lavin, who also voices Dr Edward Armstrong in the game.