Agatha Christie And New Directions In Reading Detective Fiction

This book brings a new lens to the work of Agatha Christie through a series of close readings which challenge the official solutions by Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. This book's approach interweaves two core ideas: first, it explores the importance of French critic Pierre Bayard’s self-styled ‘detective criticism’; second, it takes detective criticism in a new direction by refocusing on the beginnings of Agatha Christie’s novels. In this way, the book counters the end-orientation that has traditionally dominated the reading experience of, and critical response to, detective fiction by exploring the potential of the beginning to host other interpretations and stories. Offering a new way of reading detective fiction, this book is a mixture of narratology and detective criticism, and deploys it in the form of radical new readings of a number of Christie’s most famous works. This illuminating text will interest students and scholars of crime and detective fiction, literary studies and comparative literature.

"The Mysterious Affair at Styles" introduces readers to the iconic Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie's debut novel. Set against the backdrop of a country estate, Styles Court, this classic mystery unfolds as Poirot investigates the poisoning of wealthy heiress Emily Inglethorp. As secrets, motives, and suspicious characters abound, readers are taken on a thrilling journey through Christie's masterful storytelling and intricate plot twists. With her keen sense of mystery and astute character development, Christie lays the foundation for a genre-defining career. "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" is a must-read for fans of detective fiction, marking the beginning of Poirot's legendary adventures and showcasing Christie's brilliance in crafting perplexing puzzles that keep readers guessing until the final revelation.

DigiCat presents to you this unique and meticulously edited murder mystery collection: The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Secret Adversary The Murder on the Links The Affair at the Victory Ball The Curious Disappearance of the Opalsen Pearls (The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan) The Adventure of the King of Clubs The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim The Mystery of the Plymouth Express The Adventure of "The Western Star" The Tragedy at Marsden Manor The Kidnapped Prime Minister The Million Dollar Bond Robbery The Adventure of the Cheap Flat The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge The Clue of the Chocolate Box The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb The Case of the Veiled Lady The Kidnapping of Johnnie Waverly The Market Basing Mystery The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman The Case of the Missing Will The Submarine Plans (The Incredible Theft) The Adventure of the Clapham Cook The Lost Mine The Cornish Mystery The Double Clue The Lemesurier Inheritance The Man in the Brown Suit

♥♥The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie♥♥ Agatha Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was the result of a dare from her sister Madge who challenged her to write a story. The story begins when Hastings is sent back to England from the First World War due to injury and is invited to spend his sick leave at the beautiful Styles Court by his old friend John Cavendish. Here, Hastings meets John’s stepmother, Mrs. Inglethorp, and her new husband, Alfred. Despite the tranquil surroundings Hastings begins to realize that all is not right. When Mrs. Inglethorp is found poisoned, suspicion falls on the family, and another old friend, Hercule Poirot, is invited to investigate. ♥♥The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie♥♥ Agatha Christie’s first-ever murder mystery. With impeccable timing, Hercule Poirot, the renowned Belgian detective, makes his dramatic entrance onto the English crime stage. ♥♥The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie♥♥ Recently, there had been some strange goings-on at Styles St Mary. Evelyn, the constant companion to old Mrs. Inglethorp, had stormed out of the house muttering something about ‘a lot of sharks’. And with her, something indefinable had gone from the atmosphere. Her presence had spelt security; now the air seemed rife with suspicion and impending evil. ♥♥The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie♥♥ A shattered coffee cup, a splash of candle grease, a bed of begonias... all Poirot required to display his now legendary powers of detection. ♥♥The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie♥♥

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by Agatha Christie. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head (John Lane's UK company) on 21 January 1921.[2] The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence Styles was Christie's first published novel. It introduced Hercule Poirot, Inspector (later, Chief Inspector) Japp, and Arthur Hastings.[3] Poirot, a Belgian refugee of the Great War, is settling in England near the home of Emily Inglethorp, who helped him to his new life. His friend Hastings arrives as a guest at her home. When the woman is killed, Poirot uses his detective skills to solve the mystery. This is also the setting of Curtain, Poirot's last case. The book includes maps of the house, the murder scene, and a drawing of a fragment of a will. The true first publication of the novel was as a weekly serial in The Times, including the maps of the house and other illustrations included in the book. This novel was one of the first ten books published by Penguin Books when it began in 1935. This first mystery novel by Agatha Christie was well received by reviewers. An analysis in 1990 was positive about the plot, considered the novel one of the few by Christie that is well-anchored in time and place, a story that knows it describes the end of an era, and mentions that the plot is clever. Christie had not mastered cleverness in her first novel, as "too many clues tend to cancel each other out"; this was judged a difficulty "which Conan Doyle never satisfactorily overcame, but which Christie would." The story opens in England during the First World War at Styles Court, an Essex country manor. Upon her husband's death, the wealthy widow Emily Cavendish inherited a life estate in Styles as well as the outright inheritance of the larger part of the late Mr. Cavendish's income. Mrs. Cavendish became Mrs. Inglethorp upon her recent marriage to a younger man, Alfred Inglethorp. Emily's two stepsons, John and Lawrence Cavendish, John's wife Mary and Cynthia Murdoch, also live at Styles. John Cavendish is the vested remainderman of Styles; that is, the property will pass to him upon his stepmother's death, per his late father's will. Lawrence Cavendish would also come into a considerable sum of money. The income left to Mrs Inglethorp by her late husband would be distributed according to her will, which she changes at least once per year. If she has not changed her will since her marriage, her husband will inherit that income.[5] Cynthia does war-time work at the pharmacy in the nearby hospital. The residents of Styles wake to find Emily Inglethorp dying of strychnine poisoning. Hastings, a house guest, enlists the help of his friend Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the nearby village, Styles St. Mary. Poirot pieces together events surrounding the murder. On the day she was killed, Emily Inglethorp was overheard arguing with someone, either her husband Alfred or her stepson John. Afterwards, she seemed quite distressed and, apparently, made a new will - which no one can find. She ate little at dinner and retired early to her room with her document case. The case was later forced open by someone and a document removed. Alfred Inglethorp left Styles earlier in the evening and stayed overnight in the nearby village, so was not present when the poisoning occurred. Nobody can explain how or when the strychnine was administered to Mrs. Inglethorp. Poirot clears Cavendish by proving it was Alfred Inglethorp who committed the crime, assisted by Evelyn Howard, who turns out to be his cousin with whom he is romantically involved, not his enemy.

Agatha Christie and the Guilty Pleasure of Poison examines Christie’s female poisoners in the context of Christie’s own experience in pharmacy and of detective fiction. In doing so, it uncovers an overlooked dynamic in which female poisoners deliver well-deserved comeuppance for gendered and classed wrongdoing ordinarily accepted in everyday life. While critics have long recognized male outlaws, like Robin Hood, who use crime to oppose a corrupt system, this book contends that female outlaws – witches and poisoners – offer a similar heritage of empowered femininity. Far from cozy and formulaic, Agatha Christie’s outlaw poisoners offer readers the surprising pleasures of comeuppance, and they set the stage for contemporary detective fiction writers, more recent films depicting poisoning as empowering, and even poison gardens, which are tourist destinations that offer visitors the guilty pleasure of poison.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is Agatha Christie's first Hercule Poirot novel. It was written on a bet that Christie couldn't write a detective novel in which the reader couldn't deduce the criminal. Her attempt laid the foundation for one of literature's most famous detectives.In this novel we're introduced to Inspector Poirot as he's settling in to a new life in England. After a woman is murdered at the country estate he's visiting, he has to use his detective skills to catch the criminal. The Mysterious Affair at Styles sets the stage for the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and has everything you'd expect from a story rich in those classic detective fiction tropes."Though this may be the first published book of Miss Agatha Christie, she betrays the cunning of an old hand... You must wait for the last-but-one chapter in the book for the last link in the chain of evidence that enabled Mr. Poirot to unravel the whole complicated plot and lay the guilt where it really belonged. And you may safely make a wager with yourself that until you have heard M. Poirot's final word on the mysterious affair at Styles, you will be kept guessing at its solution and will most certainly never lay down this most entertaining book." --The New York Times Book Review

English author and dramatist Agatha Christie specialised in detective fiction. She produced almost 75 novels, including 14 collections of short stories and 66 detective novels. One of the best-selling authors of all time, Christie is arguably the most well-known mystery author in the world. Some of AGATHA CHRISTIE'S best works are collected in this compilation. Agatha Christie is credited with founding the detective book genre, which has existed for decades. She established this genre and gave it its current form. The central plot of detective stories is figuring out who committed the crime, and Agatha Christie dominates this genre. She is the best-selling mystery author in the world and is frequently praised for her mastery of narrative, character development, and tension.