The Mysterious Affair at Styles

by

Agatha Christie

Mr. Mace is a local pharmacist who sells strychnine to a person he thinks is Alfred Inglethorp. He admits at the inquest that he knows he shouldn’t have done this, since only authorized people are allowed to purchase strychnine. But the townspeople in Styles greatly respect anyone who lives in Emily Inglethorp’s house, so Mr. Mace made an exception.
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Mr. Mace Character Timeline in The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Mace appears in The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5: “It Isn’t Strychnine, Is It?”
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...about the case. Eventually, they look down into the street and see a pharmacist named Mr. Mace sprinting toward the building. When he arrives, he frantically asks if Mrs. Inglethorp was poisoned... (full context)
Chapter 6: The Inquest
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After Evelyn Howard, the examiner calls Mr. Mace (the pharmacist) to present evidence. He admits to having sold strychnine to Mr. Inglethorp on... (full context)
Wealth, Inheritance, and Power Theme Icon
Hastings sympathizes with Mr. Mace , since it’s well known that everyone in town reveres the people who live at... (full context)
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...aren’t the same. However, when the questioner asks where Inglethorp was on the day that Mr. Mace says he bought the strychnine, he can’t answer—he doesn’t remember. He was out walking, but... (full context)
Chapter 7: Poirot Pays His Debts
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Poirot doesn’t think Alfred Inglethorp actually bought strychnine from Mr. Mace . After all, Mr. Mace is relatively new in town, having only been in the... (full context)
Suspense, Intrigue, and Secrecy Theme Icon
...are, Poirot asks Alfred once more to say where he was on Monday afternoon (when Mr. Mace claims to have sold him strychnine). But Alfred refuses, saying he can’t bring himself to... (full context)
Chapter 10: The Arrest
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...case, he says. There was the strychnine in Mrs. Inglethorp’s tonic, the strychnine sold by Mr. Mace , and now the strychnine with Lawrence’s fingerprints. The poison’s abundance throughout the case seems... (full context)
Chapter 11: The Case for the Prosecution
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As witnesses are called to the stand, it emerges that the same vial of strychnine Mr. Mace sold to the person he thought was Mr. Inglethorp was later found by Jimmy Japp... (full context)