The Mysterious Affair at Styles is set in a fictional picturesque countryside town: Styles St. Mary in Essex, England. As Hastings arrives in the town in Chapter 1, his narration crafts a vibrant image of the quaint community:
The village of Styles St. Mary was situated about two miles from the little station, and Styles Court lay a mile the other side of it. It was a still, warm day in early July. As one looked out over the flat Essex country, lying so green and peaceful under the afternoon sun, it seemed almost impossible to believe that, not so very far away, a great war was running its appointed course. I felt I had suddenly strayed into another world.
The idyllic, pastoral small town Christie brings to life in the passage above, and throughout the novel, establishes a specific sense of fondness and national pride while also bringing the everyday reader closer to the events of the story. This beautiful landscape could be any town—and thus it could easily be the reader’s town.
The novel takes place sometime during World War I, and although the war is not a central plot point of the story, Christie’s characters make repeated mention of the war’s everyday impact on people's lives. Offhand references are repeatedly made to voluntary nationalistic efforts to support the war, such as the practice of sugar rationing, the saving of wastepaper, and the giving up of late dinner in favor of a simple early supper. In Chapter 12, the backdrop of the novel’s wartime setting becomes the context for one of Poirot’s big reveals during the grand climax:
"Nevertheless, mon ami, it was Mrs. Inglethorp. Because, in no other way can you account for the fact that, on one of the hottest days of the year, Mrs. Inglethorp ordered a fire to be lighted in her room.”
I gave a gasp. What idiots we had been never to think of that fire as being incongruous! Poirot was continuing.
“[...] You will remember that, in consequence of the War economies practised at Styles, no wastepaper was thrown away. There was, therefore, no means of destroying a thick document such as a will.
As the passage above demonstrates, Poirot’s attention to the influence of “war economics” is what ultimately reveals Evelyn's identity as the destroyer of her own will. Thus, even in this fictional town removed from the direct horrors of war, Christie imbues her story with pieces of everyday reality that make the novel feel truly authentic.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is set in a fictional picturesque countryside town: Styles St. Mary in Essex, England. As Hastings arrives in the town in Chapter 1, his narration crafts a vibrant image of the quaint community:
The village of Styles St. Mary was situated about two miles from the little station, and Styles Court lay a mile the other side of it. It was a still, warm day in early July. As one looked out over the flat Essex country, lying so green and peaceful under the afternoon sun, it seemed almost impossible to believe that, not so very far away, a great war was running its appointed course. I felt I had suddenly strayed into another world.
The idyllic, pastoral small town Christie brings to life in the passage above, and throughout the novel, establishes a specific sense of fondness and national pride while also bringing the everyday reader closer to the events of the story. This beautiful landscape could be any town—and thus it could easily be the reader’s town.
The novel takes place sometime during World War I, and although the war is not a central plot point of the story, Christie’s characters make repeated mention of the war’s everyday impact on people's lives. Offhand references are repeatedly made to voluntary nationalistic efforts to support the war, such as the practice of sugar rationing, the saving of wastepaper, and the giving up of late dinner in favor of a simple early supper. In Chapter 12, the backdrop of the novel’s wartime setting becomes the context for one of Poirot’s big reveals during the grand climax:
"Nevertheless, mon ami, it was Mrs. Inglethorp. Because, in no other way can you account for the fact that, on one of the hottest days of the year, Mrs. Inglethorp ordered a fire to be lighted in her room.”
I gave a gasp. What idiots we had been never to think of that fire as being incongruous! Poirot was continuing.
“[...] You will remember that, in consequence of the War economies practised at Styles, no wastepaper was thrown away. There was, therefore, no means of destroying a thick document such as a will.
As the passage above demonstrates, Poirot’s attention to the influence of “war economics” is what ultimately reveals Evelyn's identity as the destroyer of her own will. Thus, even in this fictional town removed from the direct horrors of war, Christie imbues her story with pieces of everyday reality that make the novel feel truly authentic.
