Curtain & The Mysterious Affair at Styles

by Agatha Christie

Marking exactly 100 years since Agatha Christie wrote THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES, this special edition brings together the first Poirot novel with her last, and includes new cover paintings by Tom Adams, special introductions, and a unique letter from Hercule Poirot himself never before published in the UK. CURTAIN, written 25 years later but not published until 1976, takes the elderly Belgian detective and his old friend Captain Hastings back to Styles, the rambling country house where they solved their first murder together – and where history seems determined to repeat itself. CURTAIN was the last Poirot novel until Sophie Hannah’s hugely successful continuation novels, THE MONOGRAM MURDERS and CLOSED CASKET.

This limited edition boxed set

A unique pull-out letter written by Agatha Christie in 1936 in which Hercule Poirot introduces himself to his editor, never before published outside the USA

A newly discovered article by Agatha Christie, Drugs and Detective Stories, written for University College Hospital Magazine in 1941, in which she reminisces about the inspiration for her first book

Agatha Christie’s original unpublished courtroom ending to The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introduced by Christie expert Dr John Curran

Brand new cover paintings and an introduction by Tom Adams, Christie’s celebrated cover artist from the 1960s onwards

Genres: Agatha Christie, Mystery, Fiction, Classics, Crime, Thriller, British Literature

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah! The end of he year.. I started thinking about reading a book with a well known male lead. I happened to see a review of “Curtains”- the last book Agatha Christie wrote about Hercule Poirot. And why not read that? Afterall it’s historical fiction in its own way.

“Curtains” started with Hastings getting a request from Poirot to come help him at Styles. Style’s is where they had their first job together over 40 years ago.. Hastings had recently lost his wife. Poirot was in a wheelchair and his reliable valet wasn’t with him. Poirot was ailing. He said that this was his last case and he needed Hastings help. Styles wasn’t like before. It had new owners and lousy food and towels.There are a lot of surprises in this book. The important ones were between Hastings and Poirot. Hastings knew that Poirot died his hair and now his mustache too! Hasting’s youngest daughter was living at Styles and working as an assistant scientist. She is very different than her mom and dad. She plays an important role. A lot of the book is about relationships and love and of course about solving murders.

This is one of those books where you really can’t tell people about it because Poirot even held a lot back and Hastings who often had to find information for him. Poirot seemed to sit in his room or in bed a lot. I was sad. He had always had such vitality and a very keen mind. You always felt you could trust him and he would usually get his man or woman who did the crime.

I had to read the ending a few times . There was a lot going on and most of the characters were involved with the murders. But in the end it was quite good. Surprising.I felt bad for Hastings though - having one of his dearest friends so sick. and his wife gone.There a woman at Styles and Pirot and Hastings were aware of her story. Hastings seemed to like her. But Agatha Christie is also gone now and unless she wrote something about them before she passed we’ll never know what happened.

I’ll miss Pirot. He was quite the character, wasn’t he?

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the original manuscript Poirot gives his explanation of the crime from the witness box during the trial. On suggestion of her publishers, Agatha rewrote the chapter. Although the explanation of the crime remains the same, Poirot reveals the murderer in the drawing room in the kind of scene that will go on to be replicated in many of Poirot’s exploits.The original version is reproduced in this special centenary edition. So the reader now can read both the versions

[Sandra Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why they place "Curtain" before "Mysterious Affair at Styles," I'll never know, but I read them as they were written, the second story first. Dame Agatha never disappoints, even when you've read her stories before. Always a fun read.

[Staci McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read The Mysterious Affairs at Styles (not Curtain) and really enjoyed it. It was fun to see Hercules Poirot in his first outing. As always, Christie kept the story moving along and provided plenty of clues along the way (of course, I still didn't solve it, even with the clues, but that's ok). A fun, quick read.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was released when "Curtain" was released in 1975. "The Affair" was included as a bonus and hence added after Curtain (many readers complained about the wrong sequence in the timeline of the two stories). I liked that it was included because of the many references that were made in Curtain.
"The Affair" was Christie's first Poirot story. The similarity in the setup with Holmes and Watson is undeniable, but otherwise it is a very interesting plot, a well done murder mystery with almost everyone a suspect, and a surprising and well explained ending. I like the storytelling from Hastings' point of view.
I think it was good that Christie wrote "Curtain" earlier in her life and waited for the release until shortly before her death. I did not like the Poirot stories that she wrote towards the end of her life too much, and I doubt that she would have created such an intricate plot then.
Curtain is very unusual in many regards and that is what I like about it. There is the mysterious Mr. X who never committed the crimes himself but manipulated others until they snapped and killed. There is Poirot at the end of his life, but as sad as that might be, Hastings just gives us "the bare facts without embroidery" (page 160), thus avoiding the reader to fall into sadness and melancholy. And most importantly, the twists about who committed the murders are just brilliant! Except for Hastings, everyone still alive at the end comes into question, even Poirot's valet Curtiss, who replaced Georges for reasons that are explained in the end by Poirot.

Even though this is a review about the book, I cannot omit to mention the outstanding TV adaptations of the two stories with David Suchet. I actually saw those first, and just now read the book recently acquired at a yard sale. While the plots were spoiled for me, the performances of Suchet and Fraser as Poirot and Hastings were so true to the book that it was still a pleasure to read it now afterwards.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read 'Curtain' from this set. While I can see there may be issues with it for some people, as far as I am concerned it shows Christie still at the height of her powers. It is extremely lucky she chose to write this when she did rather than leave thed execrable 'Postern of Fate' as her memorial

[Patina Malinalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable classic vocabulary and writing style. It took me a moment to realize that this was actually two books in one. Both stories kept me guessing until the end!

[Alysia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to my book club, I decided to go and read a few more Agatha Christie novels after finishing the book club selection.

This volume has the first and last books to feature detective Hercule Poirot, in a two book in one binding.

This was published at the time the last book "Curtain" was written, so the book "Curtain is placed in the front of this book. I would recommend that readers begin with the 2nd book "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" and then read "Curtain."

I always have recommended that people interested in reading Agatha Christie novels begin with "The Body in the Library." However, I would now say that a good starting book would also be "The Mysterious Affair at Styles." It was excellent and was Agatha Christie's first published book.

[Lina Farid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actully I read this book 5 years ago and it doesn't worth it to hesitate writing a small review about it.
Agatha Christie said it was hercules poirot's finale case. And I expected it to be more shoking than the other cases of such a genius detective along his career , but it was such a big disappointment to me finding it the easiest of all , that's my opinion !

[Spudsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Hercule Poirot!!

This books is pretty much the bookends of his stories. Or at least the stories where Hastings is involved.

I read as many of these as I could get my hands on when I was in high school. They are great!!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is lucky number thirteen in my Christie Reread Initiative. This is another book I was really looking forward to as I remembered Curtain, at least, quite clearly on account of how unusual the killer is and the ambiguous nature of Poirot's solution to the crime. On to the review.

This book contains two of Christie's novels: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (the first Poirot story) and Curtain (Poirot's very last case). The earlier of the two actually comes second in the book but I'll give the plot overview for it first. The story begins with Hastings, the close friend of Poirot's and frequent narrator of his adventures, taking some time in the country after being discharged from the British military due to sustaining an injury in the Great War. He meets an old friend of his who invites him to stay at Styles, his ancestral home, and Hastings gladly accepts. While staying there he bumps into his old friend Hercule Poirot, who has become a refugee from his home country of Belgium and has found a place to stay in this sleepy village thanks to Hastings's hostess, the now current owner of Styles. Shortly after this all hell breaks lose when that very same hostess is murdered by poison and Hastings, with his friend's permission, calls in Poirot to investigate. He uncovers a great deal of interpersonal drama within the family and has to unravel it all in order to get to the heart of the plot that took the old woman's life. In Curtain Hastings once again finds himself at Styles, but this time at the invitation of his old friend Poirot. It, like himself, has changed greatly in the several decades since his last visit. The Cavendish family had completely abandoned it and it has now become a boarding house. Poirot, now quite old and ill to the point that he's wheelchair bound, informs Hastings that he has called him here to the scene of their first collaboration to engage in one final hunt for a murderer. Hastings, alone and a bit lost due to the passing of his wife and the scattering of his children to the four winds, is only too glad to join him in this endeavor and helps Poirot race to shut down this mysterious murderer even as people begin dropping like flies all around them.

Both of these stories are excellent, but I want to focus particularly on Curtain. As with the previous paragraph, I'll tackle the first story first, though. The Mysterious Affair at Styles is simply excellent on the whole, but I have a few complaints. There is a sequence involving a trial late in the book, and she has Hastings go into rather minute detail about it. It really drags for me in what is otherwise the kind of exciting and engaging style of mystery I've come to expect from her. The other complaint has to do with racism. I touch on it in nearly every review I write of her books but this, like Murder in Mesopotamia, is one of the more egregious examples because, like in that book, she unceremoniously drops the n-word in at one point, albeit from the mouth of an uneducated older maid. Once again I really can't wait to get my hands on a good Christie biography and see if I can't get a detailed look at her views on race. Curtain, however, is one of my absolute favorites by her. I'm still staggered by how much higher the quality of this story is compared to the final Miss Marple and Tommy and Tuppence stories. Miss Marple's last case wasn't too bad, but the final Tommy and Tuppence story is heartbreaking because of how clearly it denotes the deterioration of her mind by the time of her life. You'd never guess what the poor woman was going through with the final Poirot story, though. Her concept for the killer was brilliant and the conclusion to the story does an incredible job of leaving one with a completely different impression of Poirot, particularly in light of some his famous rants in other stories. This is a really excellent way to read both stories as Curtain does not spoil its predecessor in any meaningful way and because of the really interesting parallels she draws between the two stories, but I'd still like to know why the choice was made to put them into the book in that order.

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of two Poirot stories — his first appearance and his last, which, for some baffling reason, were out of order. I have no idea why the publishers thought that would make sense, but I chose to read them chronologically, starting with ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles.’

Styles — decent mystery, but not quite as thrilling as Christie’s more famous works. None of the plot twists really shocked me, but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless. I’d give this one its own rating of about 3/5.

Curtain — I’d heard a long time ago that this one had a big twist in it, so I think my reading was a tiny bit soured by the fact that I was constantly theorizing and looking for the twist around every corner. But it was a good twist! This story was much more compelling than ‘Styles,’ if a bit sad due to it being Poirot’s last case. 4.5/5.

[Mark Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate The Mysterious Affair at Styles at 4 of 5 — EXCELLENT. This novel is the archetype of the whodunnit murder mystery, complete with a large ensemble of suspects with various potential motives for committing the crime. Most of these people are staying together in an old English mansion when the murder occurs very late one night. Mr Hercule Poirot, the famous retired Belgian police detective, sorts through the evidence and the back stories of the crowd of suspects to solve the mystery, while keeping everyone guessing, including his sidekick and confidante, young Mr Hastings. This book is quick to read and actually includes sketches and diagrams to help the reader visualize the evidence as it is collected. Very satisfying. A classic tale.

[andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Styles: I love this introduction to Poirot. It's a clever mystery and hooks you right into the world of this quirky Belgian detective and the years of clues, red herrings, and parlor room reveals to come.

Poirot Adaptation S3E1
Incredibly loyal adaptation. Entire dialogues taken word for word from book. Left out Dr. Bauerstein and his subplot...using only Dr. Wilkins for the medical information necessary. Did not include the plot of asking Ms. Howard to help investigation thus eliminating the red herring that she discovers. A few other small red herrings were also omitted as was most of the love triangles...although marital strife, suspicions, and feelings were hinted at but not developed as much or at all as in book.
Acting was strong, characters well matched to actors, good pace, costumes and locations well done. Overall, an extremely good rendition.

[Eran Assaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a masterpiece, expressing the most prominent features of Christie's writing. It would have gotten 5 stars if it were not bounded in the same cover with Curtain.
Even though for some reason Curtain appears first in this book, it makes no sense to read them in that order, so I recommend starting from the second story.
Curtain is also fun to read, especially to the reader already acquainted with Poirot, and it gives a neat closure the series, but ideally one would read it at the end of the series.

[Suzeesg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Affair at Styles was classic Poirot and Hastings at work, and always a fascinating look at English life in the 1930's.
I had put off reading Curtain because Poirot is one of my most favorite literary characters, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though I actually shed a few tears.
I have also put off reading Sleeping Murder, Miss Marple's last case, for the same reason, but that is next on the queue.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This edition included the very first Poirot novel and the very last Poirot, Curtain, which was so fun. I just love Agatha Christie books because I know what to expect when I pick one up and I enjoy them so much. I didn’t like these as much as murder on the orient express, and then there were none or abc murders. I really thought I knew who the murderer was in both. Just as I always do, and she always tricks me. I have never figured it out before.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains two Agatha Christie Poirot mysteries both taking place a Styles. The first one was the better of the two. It is the story of Poirot death as an old man. The second one is very convoluted and I did not enjoy it as much and I thought Christie was really working hard to make this one convoluted.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection houses Styles and Curtain with complementary new covers (though I have to say, I'm not a fan of them), a couple of additional short essays and an amusing pull out written as Poirot to Christie's American publisher. Good for fans.

My biggest issue is where do I shelve it? At the start or the end of the series?

[Eke · Rating 4 out of 5]

saladuslik juhtum stylesis - 3.5/5 tähte
eesriie - 4 tähte

elu esimesed christied on loetud! väga huvitav kontrast näha poirot' esimest ja viimast lugu kohe üksteise järel. kindlasti jätkan lugemisega! hea ja mõnus ajaviide, kiire ja vägagi loetav. saan vist täitsa sellest christie fenomenist aru!

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have the energy to put mich thought into this review but it was good. An intriguing beginning for Poirot and an even more interesting end. I look forward to reading the in between parts, probably as I can.

[Sophie Carbone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised to learn that this was Hercule’s first mystery! I didn’t realize that going in because this book felt so middle of the road for me.... not much else to say beyond perhaps starting with another Agatha Christie if you’re interested in getting into the series....

[Christopher Junker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The English country house mystery is so standard it even has its own game but in 1920 it was relatively new and Agatha Christie made it hers. It was also the first appearance of Poirot. Curtain the other novel in this book is his last.

[Savannah Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

How wonderful did they enter their first-last mystery. I loved both of these books. And just such an epic, exciting Murder mystery without all the gore-y nastiness, but a thriller that keeps you engaged to the end.

[Viktoria Talalt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poirot es Hastings ujra Stylesban, mindketten megoregedtek. Poirot az utolso ugyen dolgozik, a tokeletes gyilkossal akit vegul megol majd maga is meghal :(((

[Kiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again agatha Christie has enthralled me with her writing and keeping me on my toes til the very end and Hercule poirot is still one of my fav literary characters

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Styles first, and then Curtain.

[Mariam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another banger, Agatha Christie can never go wrong.

[Barbara Bengston]

This book includes the first and last Poirot novels written by Agatha Christie. I read "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" in February 2023.

[Tara Lozy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always a sucker for these whodunnit series... especially when it stars Hercule Poirot!