Ataraxia
Welcome back! I know it’s been a while since I last wrote about a book, but here I am, back and stronger than ever. After a well-deserved little holiday, I decided to take on a literary challenge that might keep me busy for quite a while: reading all of Agatha Christie’s works in chronological order. Needless to say, this is going to take some time. That’s why I decided to create a new series, as you may have noticed, called “The Agatha Archives”, in which we will go through every Agatha Christie novel and short story together.
If you’d like to follow my daily progress and chat more directly with me about literature, feel free to follow me on Instagram at @readwith_agatha.
Now, let’s get back to our sheep—or rather, our murders—and welcome to the very first edition of The Agatha Archives with The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
As with every novel review, here’s a short summary of the book.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is Agatha Christie’s very first novel, where we meet for the very first time the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and his loyal companion Captain Hastings.
While Hastings is taking some time for himself, he runs into an old friend in a small town near Styles. Invited to his friend’s home, Hastings spends some time at the Cavendish/Inglethorp estate. He soon learns that his friend John Cavendish’s mother, Emily Cavendish, has recently married a certain Alfred Inglethorp—someone who doesn’t seem to be very popular with the family.
The situation takes a dark turn when Emily is found dead in her bed early one morning. All eyes turn to Styles Court, where an investigation becomes urgently necessary. Fortunately, Hastings comes across his long-time friend, Mr Hercule Poirot. Together, Poirot and Hastings set out to discover who could possibly have murdered Emily Inglethorp.
The Little Grey Cells at Work
Poirot immediately sets his “little grey cells” in motion to uncover the identity of the murderer. Even though I had a small idea about who it might be, I couldn’t connect all the clues. But just because I didn’t figure it out doesn’t mean you won’t—so let me know if you managed to guess the culprit and piece together the evidence!
My Thoughts on The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles was Agatha Christie’s first novel, written in 1917 and published in 1920. Surprisingly, it took me quite some time to finish it—not because it’s particularly long, but because I struggled a bit to get into Hastings’ point of view at the beginning. He has a tendency to irritate me by criticising Poirot for understanding things he himself cannot deduce.
That said, once I got past the early chapters, the book turned out to be an excellent read, full of twists and surprises.
I highly recommend The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Even if it’s not Agatha Christie’s best, it’s her very first novel—and for that reason alone, it’s worth reading!
