| “ | Because I love you, Henrietta, but you're so... you're so detached. Your art, your cars, your friends... I want you to think only of me. | „ |
| ~ John Cristow to Henrietta Savernake |
| “ | Henrietta... | „ |
| ~ John's final words |
Dr. John Christow is the overarching antagonist and the main victim of Agatha Christie's 1946 Hercule Poirot novel, The Hollow. He is a very self-confident and attractive doctor, and has great charisma.
However, while charismatic, Dr. Christow is not without an unsculptrous side. He was revealed to be involved in a love affair with Henrietta Savernake, and having romanced three women in the same time including his wife, Gerda Christow, who eventually killed him out of jealousy and broke admiration.
In Agatha Christie's Poirot, he was portrayed by Jonathan Cake, who also voiced Darth Thanaton in Star Wars: The Old Republic and portrayed Mark Easterbrook in Agatha Christie's Marple.
History[]
Dr. John Cristow was a doctor who was passionate about his work and dedicated himself to finding a cure for "Ridgeway's disease" – the aetiology of which bears a marked resemblance to multiple sclerosis. About 14 years ago, he had a romantic relationship with Veronica Cray, who later departed for Hollywood and ended their relationship. Later, John went on married his wife, Gerda, who was naive and thus originally idealized her husband as a god-like figure.
However, Gerda's admiration shattered when she discovered that her husband had been cheating on her, sharing a love affair with her friend, Henrietta Savernake. Gerda was soon engulfed by jealousy and determined to kill her husband.
Before his family's departure to the Hollow, John made his nine-year-old daughter to predict his fortune as a mere joke. John's daughter, Zena, showed him the tarot card of Death, and John never took it seriously. However, upon arrivin in the Hollow, he soon got stuck in an embarrased situation between three women who was in love with him, including Veronica, who arranged her journey just to be in love with him once more. However, John rejected Veronica and their relationship gone sour.
Nevertheless, turned out John was still attached to her and it even implied that they had a one-night stand. Upon discovering her husband's infidelity once more, Gerda was consumed by hatred and jealousy for real, and the next day she shot her husband dead. She then threw the pistol away and replaced it with another different, but unused one. When Henrietta discovered this and Poirot arrived to the scene, John uttered Henrietta's name in his last breath.
It was deduced that John was remorseful over his cheating on his wife, and asked Henrietta to cover Gerda's crimes for his sake.
