The 7 May 1921 issue of The Pharmaceutical Journal and Pharmacist[1] No. 3003. Vol. 106. (4th Series, Vol. 52) contains on page 344 a review by R Cecil Owen of The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The review, entitled "Pharmacy in Fiction - An Ingenious Poisoner" is one of the earliest known reviews of the book by a professional pharmacist. This first review is rather more critical of Christie's writing than a second one in the same journal written two years later.
The review begins by praising the book as "one of the best of recent detective tales" which are not so much intended to present the reader with "a slice of life" but as "a puzzle deliberately set by the author, whose brains are thus pitted against the reader's".
However the reviewer takes issue with the science in the book. The poisoner relies on the fact that the victim is taking a liquor of strychnine and exploits a basic incompatibility of chemicals which "every student, whether of pharmacy or medicine, is exhorted to avoid". However Owens notes that "it was proved that in the body was one grain at least of strychnine-as much as would be contained in, say, two drachms of the solution. But as the whole of the strychnine would not be at once precipitated, and as a portion of the medicine would be taken before precipitation was complete, it is only fair to suppose that something like three drachms of the Liquor were put into the bottle. Presumably (we are not told) it was of eight-ounce size, and that would mean rather a large dose of strychnine for an old lady. But novelists are privileged people whose actions it is scarcelv fair to look too closely at."
Another issue that Owens objects to is the incident where a qualified chemist sold some strychnine to "the local squire" and the poison book is duly signed. Yet "the coroner reprimanded the pharmacist for his pains, and he is made to cut a sorry figure".[2]
The review concludes by noting that the book "ranks high as a work of fiction. every care having been taken to keep as far away from the truth as possible."
References[]
- ↑ The Pharmaceutical Journal and Pharmacist is the official organ of the Pharmaceutical Society.
- ↑ The reviewer is referring to Albert Mace. He is indeed dismissed "with a few words of stern censure" by the coroner. But his preceding testimony is not as straight-forward as it would appear. The coroner had asked if he was in the habit of selling strychnine indiscriminately over the counter. Mace had replied no, but "seeing it was Mr. Inglethorp of the Hall, I thought there was no harm in it."