Product Description

In December 1926, Agatha Christie vanished mysteriously from her home in England. She was found eleven days later in a hotel, claiming amnesia. Until now, no one knew what happened during the first twenty-four hours of her disappearance or if her amnesia was genuine. Christie never recovered from the press' scrutiny, and the private anguish ensured that she made no reference to it in her own memoirs. This paperback edition of Jared Cade's riveting book has the answers, with startling accounts by her relatives that reveal why she staged the disappearance and how it went terribly wrong. The kind of extended footnote that might well delight, with its attention to detail and Cade's analysis of how Christie wove bits of her own story into her subsequent fictions.""-The Baltimore Sun. ""Cade is quite convincing in his new biography.""-The Christian Science Monitor.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #858535 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 258 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Agatha Christie's bizarre 11-day disappearance in 1926, an episode that seems right out of one of her detective novels, has elicited endless speculation, a 1997 BBC documentary (for which Cade was a research consultant) and the 1979 movie Agatha, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman. Most biographers assume Christie suffered a nervous breakdown; others believe she pulled off a major publicity stunt, noting that the nationwide search that led to her sensational discovery in a posh Yorkshire hotel catapulted her from moderately well-known crime writer to household name. Christie told the police she had amnesia, a story reiterated by her husband, dashing WWI flying hero Colonel Archibald Christie, but Cade charges coverup most foul. Marshaling the available evidence from eyewitnesses, police records and surviving friends and relatives (most notably Nan Watts, Agatha's sister-in-law), Cade builds a credible case that the writer's disappearance was an ill-conceived attempt to exact revenge on her cheating husband by publicly embarrassing him and throwing suspicion of murder his way. By this account, Agatha's discovery that Archie was having a clandestine affair with a young woman, Nancy Neele, and wanted a divorce drove her to stage a reckless vanishing act. Unfortunately, there is no smoking gun and Cade's riveting, stylish procedural gives way, in the last 70 pages or so, to workmanlike biography along with an analysis of tantalizing, alleged allusions to the 11-day disappearance in Christie's fiction. It's a case to challenge Miss Marple. Photos, map. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A sympathetic biography of the celebrated mystery writer that focuses on her strange disappearance in 1926. Londoner Cade, who researched a BBC documentary about Christies disappearance, pored through archives and interviewed scores of friends, relatives, police officials, and others connected to the event. On December 4, 1926, Christie vanished from her home only to be found 11 days later living in a posh hotel under a false name. The implausible story she and her husband gave out at the time was that she was suffering from amnesia. Cades simple, quite convincing explanation is that, having been informed by her husband that their marriage was over, Christie staged the disappearance to punish him. By creating clues that suggested murder, she hoped the police would pick him up for questioning, thus embarrassing him and ruining his weekend with his mistress. Cade reveals how her closest friend helped her concoct her plan and carry it out. What she had not anticipated was the length of time required to locate her, the sensational press coverage that ensued, and the intense public interest and speculation that were aroused. She embarrassed not just her husband but herself and was deeply chagrined at being suspected of arranging a publicity stunt to help her book sales. Cade recounts particulars of the search, Christie's anguish over the divorce that followed, and her subsequent marriage to another, also unfaithful husband. In tiresome detail he relates the plots, characters, and feelings expressed in her literary creationssome unremarkable romances under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott as well as the scores of mysteries for which she is best knownto painful episodes in her real life. First published in England in 1998, this uncritical biography provide a glimpse into the anguish of a writer who tried hard to keep her unhappy private life from public view. Ardent fans may be enthralled; she would be appalled. (31 b&w photos) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"The kind of extended footnote that might well delight, with its attention to detail and Cade's analysis of how Christie wove bits of her own story into her subsequent fictions."

Customer Reviews

Revealing the mystery writer's mystery.
Fame and wide acclaim came to Agatha Christie in 1926 when "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was published. In the same year, however, her disappearance and the eleven-day search for her attracted even more attention. Subsequently in interviews and in her own autobiography, Agatha Christie refused to explain or refer to the incident. It was inferred that the breakdown of her first marriage had been one aspect of the mystery, and her reluctance to refer to anything so painful was respected.

Since her death, she has been the subject of several biographies. None that I have read, even that of her second husband, Sir Max Mellowan, provides a satisfactory motivation or time table for the eleven missing days in 1926.

It seems remarkable that a young writer from the smallest state in Australia should be the one to adequately research the subject and to have access to the best informants. Jared Cade knows Agatha Christie's novels, plays, poetry and short sories well, and demonstrates how insights into this major crisis in Agatha Christie's life reside in them. His theories are sound, his rebuttal of false and misleading explanations is strong, and his judgments - even of Dame Agatha herself - are balanced.

Interest in what happened to the world' best-selling author back in 1926 may no longer be strong, but it is good to read something that at last sets the record straight. It is, moreover, a fascinating and focussed biography of someone who tried to keep herself away from public scrutiny. I like the compliment paid to the author by his principal informants, descendants of Agatha Christie's best friend: "This is the only biography that tells Agatha's life as it really was. Your insight into her life and personality is unsurpassed."

Agatha Christie comes alive
On December 3, 1926 Archie Christie told his wife, Agattha, that he was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. He then left for a weekend party.

Later that evening, Agatha got in her car for a drive. Her car was found off the road with her coat inside but she was no where to be found.

It was 11 days before she was found. The official story was that she was suffering from amnesia.

But now, family members from someone who knows what really happened have cooperated with telling the true story.

It's fascinating, believable and a thoroughly absorbing look into the life of one of our most famous authors.

Useful reference for Agatha Fans
The book really helps to reveal a closer and deeper examination of Agatha's life, books, as well as her deepiest feelings in her heart... Cade has tried very hard to up root the feelings of Agatha I think... The introduction of Agatha's books especially the ones written under Mary Westmacott is helpful and in great details... Moreover, there are also integrations betwwen the content and Agatha's corresponding feelings and experiences... I do think that the book deserve a look!