Arthur Hastings

Captain Arthur Hastings is the partner and best friend of Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. He is first introduced in her novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles and appears in many subsequent Poirot stories and novels, generally as the narrator.

Poirot meets Hastings almost immediately upon his arrival in England, and the two become life-long friends. Hastings, while being no great detective himself, serves Poirot in many ways. A former British Army officer in World War I, he is extremely brave and often used by Poirot for physical duties such as catching and subduing a criminal. Poirot likes to tease Hastings about being dim-witted at times, but he clearly enjoys the Captain's company. Before Hastings marries, the two men even share a flat.

Hastings represents the traditional English gentleman -- not too bright but absolutely fastidious, a throwback to the Victorian era who is always concerned about "fair play." He is chivalrous, as well, possessing a pronounced weakness for pretty women with auburn hair (a fact that gets him and Poirot into trouble more than once). He eventually marries one of the auburn-haired beauties and moves to a ranch in Argentina, returning to visit Poirot periodically.

See also: Hercule Poirot, Chief Inspector Japp