Agatha Christie began working on The Mysterious Affair at Styles in 1916, writing most of it on Dartmoor.[11] The character of Hercule Poirot was inspired by her experience working as a nurse, ministering to Belgian soldiers during the First World War, and by Belgian refugees who were living in Torquay.[12]: 75–79
The manuscript was rejected by Hodder and Stoughton and Methuen. Christie then submitted the manuscript to The Bodley Head. After keeping the submission for several months, The Bodley Head's founder, John Lane, offered to accept it, provided that Christie make slight changes to the ending. She revised the next-to-last chapter, changing the scene of Poirot's grand revelation from a courtroom to the Styles library.[13] (Some modern editions of the published book also include an appendix with the original "unpublished" alternative ending set in the courtroom. It is very similar to the final version in content, with dialogue from other characters replaced by dialogue from the Judge and Sir Ernest Heavywether.) Christie later stated that the contract she signed with Lane was exploitative.[12]: 79, 81–82
The Mysterious Affair at Styles was also said to have been inspired by a real-life murder case in Mussoorie, India.[14]
The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920[1] and by The Bodley Head in the United Kingdom on 21 January 1921.[2] The US edition retailed at $2.00[1] and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).[2]
