The Mysterious Affair At Styles Paperback - 2004

Name: The Mysterious Affair At Styles (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
Price: 25.34 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Agatha Christie
ISBN: 9781419174865

by Agatha Christie

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About this book

Written in 1916, during World War I, The Mysterious Affair at Styles is Agatha Christie’s first published novel. The story introduces the author’s world-famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, as well as Lieutenant (later Captain) Hastings and Inspector (later Chief Inspector) Japp. The mystery begins with Poirot settling in England near the home of Emily Inglethorp. When Emily is killed, Poirot must apply his detective skills to solve the mystery based on a few seemingly random clues. The book includes maps of the house, the murder scene, and a drawing of a fragment of a will.

From the jacket flap

Who poisoned the wealthy Emily Inglethorpe, and how did the murderer penetrate and escape from her locked bedroom? Sus-pects abound in the quaint village of Styles St. Mary--from the heiress's fawning new husband to her two stepsons, her volatile housekeeper, and a pretty nurse who works in a hospital dispensary. Making his unforgettable debut, the brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is on the case.
"The key to the success of this style of detective novel," writes Elizabeth George in her Introduction, "lies in how the author deals with both the clues and the red herrings, and it has to be said that no one bettered Agatha Christie at this game."

First Edition Identification

After having been rejected by six publishers, John Lane (US) produced the story in novel form for the first time in October 1920. (The Mysterious Affair at Styles had previously been serialized in the UK’s The Times in February of that year.) The first edition of the novel has a hardcover with 296 pages. Beneath the dustjacket illustrated by Alfred James Dewey, the book is covered in pale brown cloth with dark green lettering on the upper cover and spine.