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Situational Irony
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is written from the first-person point of view. Agatha Christie structures the entire book as though the narrator is writing an account to record events that have already occurred and to clarify or dispel rumors surrounding the scandal at the center of the story. As both Christie’s first novel and her first introduction of Hercule Poirot to readers, this book begins to develop her distinctive and iconic style as one of the greatest and best-selling novelists of all time.
Throughout her body of work, Christie delights in the building and subsequent unraveling of mysteries, featuring a smart (if eccentric) detective and an idolizing sidekick character to serve as a stand-in for her readers. These characteristics are all present in this novel, along with other defining aspects of Christie’s literary style, such as her light, unobtrusive prose that allows the reader to seamlessly sink into the story. Christie relies heavily on dialogue to make up the majority of the novel, using minimal descriptions of settings or internal narration, particularly following the introductory chapters. This stylistic decision allows her plot to progress rapidly at a satisfying pace, engaging the reader’s attention as the conversations flow and clues are continuously revealed. Christie’s work is defined by her compelling, intricate plots, which she fills with an abundance of red herrings to confuse and delight her readers (for example, the scrap of green fabric that casts Mary Cavendish under suspicion). In Chapter 12, Christie defines one of the trademarks of her style through the crafting of her classic final confrontation scene, which becomes the blueprint for her novels moving forward.
