Agatha Christie

The Mysterious Affair At Styles Agatha Christie

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920[1] and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head (John Lane's UK company) on 21 January 1921. Styles was Christie's first published novel. It introduced Hercule Poirot, Inspector (later, Chief Inspector) Japp, and Arthur Hastings.[3] Poirot, a Belgian refugee of the Great War, is settling in England near the home of Emily Inglethorp, who helped him to his new life. His friend Hastings arrives as a guest at her home. When the woman is killed, Poirot uses his detective skills to solve the mystery. The book includes maps of the house, the murder scene, and a drawing of a fragment of a will. The true first publication of the novel was as a weekly serial in The Times, including the maps of the house and other illustrations included in the book. This novel was one of the first ten books published by Penguin Books when it began in 1935. On the morning of 18 July, the household at Styles Court wakes to the discovery that Emily Inglethorp, the elderly owner, has died. She had been poisoned with strychnine. Arthur Hastings, a soldier from the Western Front staying at this country manor as a guest on his sick leave, ventures out to the nearby village of Styles St Mary to enlist help from his friend Hercule Poirot. Emily was a wealthy woman. Her household includes her husband, Alfred Inglethorp, a younger man she recently married; her stepsons (from her first husband's previous marriage) John and Lawrence Cavendish; John's wife Mary Cavendish; Cynthia Murdoch, the daughter of a deceased friend of the family; and Evelyn Howard, Emily's companion. Poirot explains that he prevented Japp from arresting Alfred because Poirot saw that Alfred wanted to be arrested. Thanks to a chance remark by Hastings, Poirot finds a letter in Emily's room that detailed Alfred's intentions for Emily. Emily's distress on the afternoon of the murder was because Emily had found this letter in Alfred's desk while searching for stamps. Emily's document case was forced open by Alfred when Alfred realized she had the letter. Alfred then hid the letter elsewhere in the room to avoid being found with it.