The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Written by Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles presents a fiction, mystery first published in 1920. A detective novel written in the early 20th century. The story centers around the mysterious death of an elderly matriarch, Mrs. Inglethorp, at Styles Court, her estate in Essex, and the subsequent investigation into the incident. The main character is Captain Arthur Hastings, who narrates the tale and has a close association with the famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who takes on the role of sleuthing to uncover the truth surrounding Mrs. Inglethorp's demise. The beginning of the novel introduces Captain Hastings, who has returned from the front lines of World War I for a period of convalescence. Its treatment of Belgians -- England, Detective and mystery stories, and Poirot, Hercule gives readers several ways to connect the immediate story or argument with broader questions. Form and tone matter throughout, with a carefully controlled structure that rewards attention to detail and shifting suspicion. At roughly 57,826 words with a fairly easy reading profile, it offers a reading commitment that is easy to judge before beginning while still leaving room for close attention. Readers still return to it because of its role in shaping the pleasures and conventions of detective and suspense fiction. For modern readers, the pleasure comes from entering.