Hercule Poirot available to solve mysteries at an English country house. At the time of Christie's writing, it was considered patriotic to express sympathy towards the Belgians, since the invasion of their country had constituted Britain's "casus belli" for entering World War I, and British wartime propaganda emphasised the "Rape of Belgium". Poirot first appeared in "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (published in 1920) and exited in "Curtain" (published in 1975). Following the latter, Poirot was the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of "The New York Times". By 1930, Agatha Christie found Poirot "insufferable", and, by
Ariadne Oliver Discontented Soldier", she was portrayed by Lally Bowers. A 1986 adaptation of "Dead Man's Folly" starred Jean Stapleton as Ariadne Oliver, opposite Peter Ustinov as Poirot. Zoë Wanamaker has played Ariadne Oliver in six television episodes of the series "Agatha Christie's Poirot", starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. In the last shot episode of the series (but not the finale), Mrs Oliver—a combination of Agatha Christie/Miss Marple—is helpful to Poirot in an adaptation of "Dead Man's Folly", which was filmed on the Christie Estate. In the BBC Radio 4 plays, Ariadne Oliver has been played by Stephanie Cole ("Cards on