
Pre-Read: The Mysterious Affair At Styles
08/22/23 • 38 min
4 Listeners
Listen to this episode before you read The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
Join Caitlin and Chad as they discuss the historical contexts surrounding the creation of Agatha Christie's beloved character, Hercule Poirot. You'll get tips on how to read the book, where to read the book, and what to look out for as you read.
This is a spoiler-free episode.
You can read The Mysterious Affair at Styles for free on Project Gutenberg and listen to the book for free on the Phoebe Reads a Mystery podcast.
Listen to The Mysterious Affair at Styles reading playlist on Spotify (curated by us) as you read.
Want to share your thoughts about Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, or anything else we mention? Email us or send us an audio recording at [email protected].
Theme Music: The Black Cat by Aaron Kenny.
Sources:
- “About Agatha Christie - the World’s Best-Selling Novelist.” The World’s Best-Selling Novelist - Agatha Christie , www.agathachristie.com/about-christie#christies-life. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- Christie, Agatha. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - Reading Guide: 9780525565109 - Penguinrandomhouse.Com: Books.” PenguinRandomhouse.Com , Knopf, www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/27561/the-mysterious-affair-at-styles-by-agatha-christie/9780525565109/readers-guide/. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- “How Belgian Refugees Kept the British Army Going during the First World War.” Imperial War Museums , www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-belgian-refugees-kept-the-british-army-going-during-the-first-world-war. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Essex.” Encyclopædia Britannica , Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 17 July 2023, www.britannica.com/place/Essex-county-England.
- “The Mysterious Affair at Styles.” Wikipedia , Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Affair_at_Styles.
- “A Note from an Agatha Christie Purist.” Agatha Christie , 25 May 2017, www.agathachristie.com/news/2017/a-note-from-an-agatha-christie-purist#:~:text=Moustaches%20were%20a%20symbol%20of,King%20Albert%20I%20of%20Belgium.
- “Refugees: Tracing the Belgian Refugees.” Imperial War Museums , www.iwm.org.uk/history/refugees-tracing-the-belgian-refugees. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- “Trench Warfare.” National WWI Museum and Memorial , www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/trench-warfare#:~:text=The%20trench%20systems%20on%20the,not%20i
Listen to this episode before you read The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
Join Caitlin and Chad as they discuss the historical contexts surrounding the creation of Agatha Christie's beloved character, Hercule Poirot. You'll get tips on how to read the book, where to read the book, and what to look out for as you read.
This is a spoiler-free episode.
You can read The Mysterious Affair at Styles for free on Project Gutenberg and listen to the book for free on the Phoebe Reads a Mystery podcast.
Listen to The Mysterious Affair at Styles reading playlist on Spotify (curated by us) as you read.
Want to share your thoughts about Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, or anything else we mention? Email us or send us an audio recording at [email protected].
Theme Music: The Black Cat by Aaron Kenny.
Sources:
- “About Agatha Christie - the World’s Best-Selling Novelist.” The World’s Best-Selling Novelist - Agatha Christie , www.agathachristie.com/about-christie#christies-life. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- Christie, Agatha. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - Reading Guide: 9780525565109 - Penguinrandomhouse.Com: Books.” PenguinRandomhouse.Com , Knopf, www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/27561/the-mysterious-affair-at-styles-by-agatha-christie/9780525565109/readers-guide/. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- “How Belgian Refugees Kept the British Army Going during the First World War.” Imperial War Museums , www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-belgian-refugees-kept-the-british-army-going-during-the-first-world-war. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Essex.” Encyclopædia Britannica , Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 17 July 2023, www.britannica.com/place/Essex-county-England.
- “The Mysterious Affair at Styles.” Wikipedia , Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Affair_at_Styles.
- “A Note from an Agatha Christie Purist.” Agatha Christie , 25 May 2017, www.agathachristie.com/news/2017/a-note-from-an-agatha-christie-purist#:~:text=Moustaches%20were%20a%20symbol%20of,King%20Albert%20I%20of%20Belgium.
- “Refugees: Tracing the Belgian Refugees.” Imperial War Museums , www.iwm.org.uk/history/refugees-tracing-the-belgian-refugees. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- “Trench Warfare.” National WWI Museum and Memorial , www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/trench-warfare#:~:text=The%20trench%20systems%20on%20the,not%20i
Next Episode

Debrief: The Mysterious Affair At Styles
Caution! Spoilers ahead! (Many, many, many spoilers.)
Listen to this episode after you read The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
Caitlin and Chad discuss The Mysterious Affair At Styles, chapter by chapter.
You can read The Mysterious Affair at Styles for free on Project Gutenberg and listen to the book for free on the Pheobe Reads a Mystery podcast.
Listen to The Mysterious Affair at Styles reading playlist on Spotify (curated by us) as you read.
Share the highlights of your reading experience and your thoughts about books, Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, or anything else we mention. Email us or send us an audio recording at [email protected].
Music Credits
- Theme Music: The Black Cat by Aaron Kenny.
- Hastings in Love Music: Symphony No. 5, Adagietto by Gustav Mahler
Sources:
- “Ceramic Spill Vase (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service , U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/articles/000/ceramic-spill-vase.htm#:~:text=A%20spill%20vase%20was%20originally,tobacco%20in%20a%20smoking%20pipe. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- Christie, Agatha. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - Reading Guide: 9780525565109 - Penguinrandomhouse.Com: Books.” PenguinRandomhouse.Com , Knopf, www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/27561/the-mysterious-affair-at-styles-by-agatha-christie/9780525565109/readers-guide/. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
- French, David. “Spy Fever in Britain, 1900–1915*: The Historical Journal.” Cambridge Core , Cambridge University Press, 11 Feb. 2009, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical-journal/article/abs/spy-fever-in-britain-19001915/B22197206C761AA3D8B82F736D67D635.
- Maloney, Wendi A. “World War I: The Women’s Land Army: Timeless.” The Library of Congress , 26 Mar. 2018, blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/03/world-war-i-the-womens-land-army/.
- “Study of a Land Worker.” Imperial War Museums , www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/23978. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
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