Ann Shapland is the main antagonist of Dame Agatha Christie's 1959 Hercule Poirot novel, Cat Among the Pigeons. She was the new secretary of Miss Bulstrode at Meadowbank School for Girls, but in secret she was actually an espionage agent using the alias Angelica.
She was portrayed by Natasha Little in Agatha Christie's Poirot.
Overview[]
During her espoinage mission three months ago, Angelica attempted to gain the jewels owned by the late Prince Ali Yusuf of Ramat, of which the prince's best friend Bob Rawlinson had smuggled out to ensure its safety from the Prince's enemies when the kingdom went into war. While acting as Bob's girlfriend, Angelica discovered that Bob hid inside his niece Jennifer's tennis racket. She soon followed Jennifer and arrived in in Meadowbank, in order to find the jewels. Under the name of Ann Shapland, she served as the secretary of Miss Bulstrode, the headmistress of Meadowbank.
In the process, Shapland murdered game mistress Grace Springer. She also posed as a stranger with a new tennis racquet from her Aunt Gina. However, Jennifer and her friend, Julia Upjohn (the daughter of Mrs. Upjohn, Shapland's rival agent), had swapped their racquets since Julia suspected that this was a trap all along. Upon finding the suspicion surrounding the racket, Julia investigated the racket with Jennifer and discovered the jewels. After discovering that there was someone (later revealed to be Shapland) near her room Julia then snuck the jewels out and immedaitely presented them to Poirot, revealing the killer's true intention.
The second murder soon occured when Miss Vansittart, one of the candidates of Meadowbank's next headmistress, was found murdered, though Ann was passed due to an alibi. In the meantime, Mlle. Angèle Blanche, discovered that Ann was the murderer of Ms. Springer and chose to blackmail her. However, the blackmail gone backfired and Mlle. Blanche was killed.
After dealing with the imposter of Princess Shaista, Poirot gathered everyone in his denoument and revealed that Ann Shapland was the culprit. Turned out, Poirot already discovered Ann Shapland's true identity as Angelica thanks to Mrs. Upjohn's assistance. Before her arrest, Shapland/Angelica attempted to shoot Mrs. Upjohn, and Ms. Bulstrode intended to shield the latter. They were, however, both shielded by Miss Chadwick, who revealed herself to be the killer of Ms. Vansittart in her dying breath. Angelica was soon disarmed and was taken away.
Trivia[]
- In Agatha Christie's Poirot, Shapland never disguised as a stranger in order to deceive Jennifer into giving her the racquet that secretly contained jewels.
