Agatha Christie, the “queen of crime,” is known for her intricate plots and unforgettable characters. Her very first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920, introduced the world to the brilliant detective Hercule Poirot. The story revolves around a wealthy woman’s murder within a family rife with tension, a classic setup for a Christie whodunit. But did this plot have a real-life inspiration that unfolded in India?
Echoes of Mussoorie: A sensational murder trial
In 1911, a real-life murder case in the hill-station Mussoorie, India, sent shockwaves across the globe. Frances Garnett Orme, a 49-year-old woman, was found dead in her hotel room, poisoned with prussic acid (according to the post-mortem report). Her friend, Eva Mount Stephens, a 36-year-old spiritualist, became the prime suspect.
The case captivated the world’s attention with its twists and turns. The locked room (where the deceased victim was found), the alleged financial motive, and Stephens’ supposed prediction of Orme’s death fueled the media frenzy. The trial, dubbed the “Mussoorie murder trial” or the “crystal gazing trial” by newspapers, became a public spectacle.
In the end, Stephens was acquitted, leaving the true cause of Orme’s death shrouded in mystery. However, the parallels between this real-life drama and Christie’s debut novel are undeniable.
Mirrored elements: from poison to locked rooms
The Mysterious Affair at Styles features Emily Inglethorp, a wealthy woman, poisoned to death. Just like Orme, Emily’s body is found in a room which is locked from the inside. During the investigation, it is speculated that the culprit, Emily’s companion Evelyn, poisoned her with a motive of financial gain.
English crime writer Agatha Christie (centre) is presented with a mousetrap by actors Richard Attenborough (right) and John Mills in honour of her long-running play “The Mousetrap”. This play holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running play in history. The whodunit murder mystery first premiered in Nottingham, England in 1952 and has been performed more than 28,000 times around the world. | Photo Credit: Bentley Archive/Popperfoto via Getty images
Literary inspiration or just coincidence?
The parallels between the Mussoorie murder and The Mysterious Affair at Styles are irrefutable. Author Ruskin Bond, a resident of Mussoorie, even wrote about this connection in one of his essays. Indian crime writer Manjiri Prabhu further fueled the speculation by highlighting the “interesting connect” at the International Agatha Christie Festival in 2022 according to a BBC report.
However, there are some key differences…
Unlike Stephens, who was ultimately acquitted, (spoiler alert!!) Evelyn is the murderer in Christie’s novel. Additionally, the methods of poisoning and the alibis of the suspects differ in each case.
History of poisonings in India
While Christie might have been inspired by the Mussoorie murder, it wasn’t an isolated incident. Poisonings, particularly with arsenic, were prevalent in 19th-Century India due to unregulated sales. This dark reality is explored in many books including Toxic Histories: Poison and Pollution in Modern India by David Arnold. The widespread use of poison even led to the enactment of the Indian Poisons Act in 1904.
The Mussoorie murder and its potential influence on Christie’s work highlight the enduring fascination with real-life mysteries. For Agatha Christie fans, her debut novel holds a special place, not just for introducing Poirot, but also for the lingering possibility of a real-world inspiration that adds another layer of intrigue to the classic whodunit.
