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Title: The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser ISBN: 1-55927-906-0 Publisher: Audio Renaissance Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.53 (36 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Agatha's first case
Comment: For lovers of 'cozies', this first adventure of the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, is mother's milk. It is such an entertaining, such a comfy novel; that even though Agatha Christie has created others much bettter, one can still appreciate her masterful techniques from the very begginning.
The place is Styles Court, a great English country house in the village of Styles-St.-Mary, in Essex. The victim, Emily A. Inglethorp, the matriarch of the Cavendish family who has recently re-married. The suspects? Well, there are many, but her infamous new husband, Alfred Inglethorp, heads the list. The story starts with a re-telling acccount given by Captain Arthur Hastings, an old friend of Poirot, who ultimately brings him into the case to elucidate the murderer. As soon as Hastings arrives at Styles, he clearly senses that not all is well. His old friend John Cavendish tells him he is in financial trouble. John's wife, who conveys to Hastings "the impression of a wild untamed spirit in an exquisitely civilized body"; is entirely enigmatical. Emily's assistant, Evie, is a practical and matter-of-fact woman who "had a large sensible square body". Although we never really learn what such bodys look like, we can immediately picture them. Here, I find, lies one of the secrets of truly masterful character description. Even very early in the book, we come across the famous description of Poirot: "...hardly more than five feet, four inches...", with "the head exactly the shape of an egg", which "he always perched a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military." He was so incredibly neat that "a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound." The description of the characters is unique, and so is the great amount of interactivity among them. They are not a huge lot, but there's enough of them to give us a supply of good complications and 'red herrings': the sinister Mr. Inglethorp, the unimaginative John Cavendish and his perhaps too imaginative brother Lawrence, the servants, even the townsfolk. All the characters play their roles in due course, with none overshawing the others.
This is a very complete novel and, as such, is also very graphic. There are at least five illustrations created by the author, among plans of the house and handwritten letters. The reader has - apparently - all the clues at hand. This was very common at the time, as well as the titling of each chapter. It all works to provide us with the whole picture. Poirot displays his wits to no end (with quite a bit of activity I must say that we don't find in later novels), and the story - typical of the rules of a good mystery for the 1920's - ends happily for everyone involved except, maybe for Hastings; who seems to be looking for a wife but has no luck in finding the right one. Ah! No problem, mon ami, perhaps in the next adventure?
Rating: 5
Summary: Meet Hercule Poirot
Comment: In 1920 Agatha Christie introduced a quirky little Belgian detective to the world in this book she wrote on a dare from her sister. The time is World War I and Poirot is one of a small group of Belgian refugees who has come to live in a rural English village. With his egg-shaped head and his well-groomed moustache, Poirot enters and soon becomes one of fiction's best-loved detectives. Also in this novel, the reader is introduced to his cohort, Captain Arthur Hastings, recovering from a war injury at the upper-class household known as Styles Court. The mistress of the manor is Emily Inglethorpe, an elderly woman who has just married a much younger man. The family members occupying the house all become suspects when Mrs. Inglethorpe is murdered and it is up to Poirot's little grey cells to sift through all the red herrings and, in the final chapter, reveal all in true detective fashion. High on Poirot's list of suspects are: John Cavendish, the elder stepson; Mary Cavendish, his wife; Lawrence Cavendish, the younger stepson; Evelyn Howard, Mrs. Inglethorpe's companion; Cynthia Murdoch, her protegee; and Dr. Bauerstein, a mysterious stranger who lives in Essex. All have motive and opportunity but only Poirot can discover the truth.
This first novel sets the tone for many Christies to follow. The wealthy family inhabiting a country house, the non-violent method of murder (poisoning) so favored by Mrs. Christie, and the light-hearted but often serious romance all became hallmarks of many of her later works.
Have a cup of hot chocolate with Poirot and enjoy the adventure.
Rating: 5
Summary: Hercule and Hastings begin their adventures
Comment: This is the first Christie and the first Hercule Poirot novel. The action opens with Hastings describing his first adventure with Poirot. They become involved in solving a death in a locked room with the most obvious suspect being the husband. Many twists and turns later Poirot prevails and justice is served.
Hastings circumstances (invalid army officer alone in the world) are very like Dr. Watson. The relationship between Hastings and Poirot is similiar to Watson and Holmes in that Hastings is the bumbler, always leaping to the wrong conclusion while Poirot, like Holmes, drops little hints but by in large keeps his companion in the dark until the last minute.
Christie began her pattern here of going against established mystery conventions (most obvious suspect being innocent) while playing fair, (all clues are fairly laid out for the reader). The trademark Christie twists and turns are here as well.
This novel was originally published in 1920 and many of the details show its age. There are references to things that the modern reader will not be familiar and some comments are absolutely not politically correct but these do not detract from the story and in fact enforce the WWI English country house setting.
This is a 'must read' for any Christie fan, and highly recommended for any fan of 'cozy' mysteries.
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Title: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0425173895 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie ISBN: 042513024X Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: June, 1993 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0425067947 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: June, 1996 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0425130266 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: 12 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0425173755 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: January, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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