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Description edit
The heiress of Styles has been murdered, dying in agony from strychnine slipped into her coffee. And there are plenty who would gain from her death: the financially strapped stepson, the gold digging younger husband, and an embittered daughter-in-law. Agatha Christie's eccentric and hugely... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
This is one of Christie's earlier books, and the first time we meet the great detective, Hercule Poirot. While on medical leave from the military during World War I, Hastings visits his friend, John Cavendish, at the family manor. When Cavendish's stepmother dies under suspicious... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters edit
- Hercule Poirot: A retired Belgian detective, displaced by the war to England. He is a friend of Lieutenant Hastings. A short man, no more than five feet four inches tall, he moved with "great dignity." His head is "egg-shaped" and "he always perched it a little on one side." He has a mustache that is "stiff and military." He is particularly fastidious in regards to his appearance and is a "dandy." He walks with a limp (presumably a war wound). He is one of the most "well-celebrated" members of the Belgian police force and is in retirement at the time of the story.
- Lieutenant Arthur Hastings: The narrator, a military man on medical leave from the war.
- Mr. John Cavendish: The eldest stepson of Emily Inglethorpe and "remainderman" to Styles Court.
- Mary Cavendish: The wife of John Cavendish.
- Emily (Cavendish) Inglethorpe: The owner of Styles Court and stepmother to Johnathan and Lawrence Cavendish. She is quite a wealthy old woman, and is generous, inclined to charitable activities.
- Mr. Alfred Inglethorp: Emily Inglethorpe's new, and much younger, husband. With a black beard and gold-rimmed pince-nez, he "might look natural on a stage, but looked out of place in real life ." Not liked by the rest of the family.
- Mr. Wells: Mrs. Inglethorpe's lawyer and the Coroner
- Dr. Wilkins: Mrs. Inglethorpe's doctor.
- Annie: A maid
- Mrs. Raikes: A woman from town.
- Ernest Heavywether: An attorney in the trial.
- Mr. Mace: Sells medicines.
- Mr. Lawrence Cavendish: The younger Cavendish brother. He was once working toward a career as a doctor, but is now pursuing, rather unsuccessfully, his literary ambitions.
- Manning: One of the gardeners at Styles, who plays a key role in the unraveling of the mystery.
- Evelyn Howard: Mrs. Inglethorpe's companion. She does not care for Alfred Inglethorpe, and believes he may be having an affair with a local farmers wife, Mrs. Raikes.
- Summerhaye: An inspector from Scotland Yard.
- Lady Tadminster: The late daughter of Lord Abbotsbury and the Member's wife.
- Cynthia Murdoch: Mrs. Inglethorpe's protegee, she is the orphaned daughter of a childhood friend. She works in the dispensary of the Red Cross Hospital in Tadminster, seven miles from Styles Court.
- Dr. Bauerstein: A London toxicologist, specializing in poisons. He is in Styles St. Mary on a "rest cure" and has befriended Mary Cavendish.
- Dorcas: A maid at Styles Court. Very fond of Mrs. Inglethorpe.
- Mrs. Cavendish: Wife of John Cavendish. Her name is Mary.
- Evie: Add a description of this character.
- Mr. Philips
- Aunt Emily
- Detective-Inspector Japp
- Cook
- William Earl
- Denby
- Emily Agnes Inglethorp
- Coroner
- Mr. Hastings: A faithful assistant to Hercule Poirot, similar to Doctor Watson to Sherlock Holmes
Quotes edit
-
“"Blood tells—always remember that—blood tells."”
Hercule Poirot -
“"The happiness of one man and one woman is the greatest thing in all the world."”
Hercule Poirot -
“It struck me that he might look natural on a stage, but was strangely out of place in real life.”
Hastings -
“Her tall, slender form, outlined against the bright light; the vivid sense of slumbering fire that seemed to find expression only in those wonderful tawny eyes of hers, remarkable eyes, different from any other woman's that I have ever known; the intense power of stillness she possessed, which nevertheless conveyed the impression of a wild untamed spirit in an exquisitely civilised body -- all these things are burnt into my memory. I shall never forget them.”
Hastings -
“"Two is enough for a secret."”
Hercule Poirot -
“"I honestly don't know. Sometimes, I feel sure he is as mad as a hatter; and then, just as he is at his maddest, I find there is method in his madness."”
Arthur Hastings -
“"I am of the most serious. For the most serious of all things hangs in the balance.""And that is?""A woman's happiness, mon ami," he said gravely.”
Hercule Poirot, Hastings, Hercule Poirot
Setting & Locations edit
Organizations edit
- The Red Cross: An international humanitarian organization, it provided vital medical care to wounded soldiers and POWs during World War I in England, and all across Europe.
- Scotland Yard: Used to allude to the Criminal Investigation Department of the London Metropolitan Police force.
First Sentence edit
The intense interest aroused in the public by what was known at the time as "The Styles Case" has now somewhat subsided.
Table of Contents edit
1. I Go To Styles
2.The 16th and 17th of July
3. The Night of the Tragedy
4. Poirot Investigates
5. "It Isn't Strychnine, Is It?"
6. The Inquest
7. Poirot Pays His Debts
8. Fresh Suspicions
9. Dr. Bauerstein
10. The Arrest
11. The Case for the Prosecution
12. The Last Link
13. Poirot Explains
Glossary edit
- Mater: Mother
- Boudoir: A woman's bedroom or private sitting room.
- Coroner: An officer, as of a county or municipality, whose chief function is to investigate by inquest, as before a jury, any death not clearly resulting from natural causes.
- Facsimile: A copy of something.
- Postmortem: Of or pertaining to examination of the body after death.
Series & Lists edit
This is book 1 of 63 in Hercule Poirot. (standard series)
Followed by Murder on the Links.
This is book 66 of 74 in Agatha Christie - Luitingh-Sijthoff pockets. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Agatha Christie (Author)
Other Contributors:
- A. van Iddekinge-van Thiel (Translator) - Dutch translation of 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles'
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Bodley Head
Country: UK
Publication Date: 1920
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 296
Publisher: Bodley Head
Country: UK
Publication Date: 1920
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 296
Classification edit
- Copyright Status: Public Domain
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 828'.912
Subjects edit
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Links to Supplemental Material edit
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie: Link to the book provided by Project Gutenberg.
Movie Connections edit
- Agatha Christie's Poirot (IMDb): British crime drama, season 2, episode 10
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