The Mysterious Affair at Styles: Genre 1 key example

The origins of detective mystery fiction may be traced to Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 short story “The Murders in the Rue-Morgue”, and his character C. Auguste Dupin, who repeatedly appeared in subsequent Poe stories. Dupin’s amateur detective sleuthing became the model upon which all future classic fictional detectives were based. One of the most notable fictional detectives of all time may be found in the iconic stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes. Christie herself includes references to Sherlock Holmes in her novels, as a nod to the origins of her genre, including in the very first chapter of The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Detective mysteries are defined by their complex puzzles, which the reader and the detective race to solve together. Other aspects of stories belonging to this genre include the presence of a large number of clues (often including red herrings), a focus on middle-class characters, and the solving and explanation of the case in a grand reveal by the end of the tale.