Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot made his first appearance in Agatha Christie's "The Mysterious Affair At Styles" in Christie's first book, published in 1920. With this amazing mystery novel, the Queen of Crime began her illustrious career. At the time, Christie was working in a dispensary, doing her part to support Britain's valient war effort on the home front while her husband, Archie Christie, was serving with the RAF.
Written to win a 'dare' challenged by her sister, Christie little knew that her funny little Belgium detective would be the catalyst that would shape her long and extraordinary career. The rest, as they say, is history. Agatha Christie went on to become the world's most prolific and popular author of mystery books and her two most famous detective's, Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple have become as well known as Christie herself.
In this, her first book, a likable but somewhat adrift Captain Hastings is recuperating from a war injury while staying at the country estate of the Inglethorpes. Emily Inglethorpe, the family matriarch, is found poisoned. The family, in shock and at a loss of what to do turns to their house guest, Arthur Hastings, for advice.
Captain Hastings recalls the amazing detective skills of a chap he met in Belgium, Hercule Poirot. Poirot had an extraordinary gift for observing even the smallest detail and then using what he called, "his little grey cells," to organize clues into the solutions that catch criminals.
Hastings calls in Hercule Poirot to help unravel the mystery. Poirot, as fate would have it, is living quite near by, grateful to England for offering war refugees, like himself, a refuge. Poirot eagerly responds to the challenge of solving the case of who could have murdered an elderly and generous woman like Emily Inglethorpe.
Read our biography of Agatha Christie.
