A Spoiler-Free Plot Summary
Written in 1916 and published in 1920, The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the novel that launched Agatha Christie's legendary career. The story is narrated by Arthur Hastings, a British soldier who has been invalided out of the First World War. Looking for peace and quiet, Hastings accepts an invitation to stay at Styles Court, a sprawling Essex country estate owned by his old friend John Cavendish's stepmother, Emily Inglethorp.
The atmosphere at Styles is tense. Emily, a wealthy widow, has recently married Alfred Inglethorp, a much younger, bearded man whom the rest of the family openly despises, viewing him as a blatant fortune hunter. One night, the household is awakened by agonizing cries. They break down Emily's bedroom door to find her dying of strychnine poisoning.
With the local police baffled, Hastings remembers that a brilliant Belgian refugee he met in Europe is staying in the nearby village. He calls upon this eccentric former police detective to investigate the murder. The detective's name is Hercule Poirot. Armed with his "little grey cells," Poirot begins to unravel a complex web of destroyed wills, suspicious coffee cups, and hidden motives, proving that almost everyone at Styles had a reason to want Emily dead.
Poirot's First Appearance
Styles is historically significant because it introduces Hercule Poirot, one of the most famous characters in literary history. From his very first scene, Poirot is fully formed: impeccably neat, obsessed with order and method, fiercely proud of his mustache, and entirely confident in his own genius. Christie famously created Poirot partly because she was surrounded by Belgian refugees in her home town of Torquay during WWI, inspiring the character's background. His reliance on psychology rather than just physical clues set him apart from the Sherlock Holmes archetype that dominated the era.
Agatha Christie's Detective Innovation
This novel established the blueprint for the "Golden Age" of detective fiction. Christie perfected the "country house mystery," where a murder occurs in a closed environment with a limited circle of suspects. She also pioneered the technique of giving every single suspect both a plausible motive and a hidden secret, forcing the detective (and the reader) to distinguish between lies told to cover up the murder and lies told to cover up other, unrelated indiscretions.
Jasper and Maya on Styles Court
In their discussion of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Jasper zeroes in on the fascinating WWI context of the novel. He points out how the war subtly impacts everything in the story, from Hastings's trauma to the rationing of supplies and the presence of Belgian refugees, anchoring a seemingly cozy mystery in a very real historical moment. Maya takes a closer look at the psychology of Christie's misdirection, examining how the author expertly uses the characters' class prejudices and xenophobia against them—and against the reader—to conceal the true killer in plain sight.
Common Questions
Is The Mysterious Affair at Styles Agatha Christie's first book?
Yes. Christie wrote it on a dare from her sister, Madge, who challenged her to write a detective story where the reader couldn't guess the killer. It was rejected by several publishers before finally being accepted, launching a career that would produce 66 detective novels.
Who is the detective in The Mysterious Affair at Styles?
The detective is Hercule Poirot, making his literary debut. He is assisted by his loyal but somewhat obtuse friend, Arthur Hastings, who serves as the narrator, much like Dr. Watson does for Sherlock Holmes.
Should I read The Mysterious Affair at Styles first?
It is a fantastic place to start if you want to read the Poirot series chronologically and see how Christie's style developed. While it might not be as tightly plotted as her later masterpieces like And Then There Were None or The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, it remains a brilliant and highly satisfying puzzle.