I read A Mysterious Affair at Styles, and I definitely enjoyed it. Some moments reminded me of several moments in Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet, and E.W. Hornung’s, short story, The Ides of March. In the beginning of A Mysterious Affair at Styles, Hastings informs readers that he had been asked “to write an account of the whole story” (Christie 2) that took place at Styles Court. That particular moment with Hastings reminded me of the moment in The Moonstone where Gabriel Betteredge was also asked to write an account of what happened, during the time the Moonstone went missing, from his point of view. Also, in both stories, Hastings and Betteredge are asked to write their accounts to dispel rumors and gossip. In The Moonstone, Betteredge is told by Mr. Franklin that “. . . the characters of innocent people have suffered under suspicion already” (Collins 20), and in A Mysterious Affair at Styles, Hastings is told that by writing his account, it would “effectually silence the sensational rumors which still persist” (Christie 2).
In A Mysterious Affair at Styles, Hastings discussed his time post-war life and “having no rear relations or friends” (Christie 3), as well trying to figure out what he would do for himself. He runs into John Cavendish, who takes him in. That particular moment reminded me of the moment in A Study in Scarlet where Watson too is trying to pick up the pieces after war, and meets an old friend, like Hastings does, that helps him get back on his feet, by introducing him to Sherlock Holmes. In A Mysterious Affair at Styles, John Cavendish informs Hastings that he’s struggling financially, which reminded me of the moment in The Ides of March where Bunny tells Raffles that he too is struggling financially.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Agatha Christie’s A Mysterious Affair at Styles, and its similarities to our past readings; I definitely will be reading more of her work.
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Works Cited:
Christie, Agatha. The Mysterious Affair at Styles. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Electronic.
Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Electronic.
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