The case of the missing mystery writer
If you want to master the art of solving television crime
dramas before the second commercial break, then you could do worse than read
the works of Agatha Christie (1890-1976). The creator of HerculePoirot and author of Murder on the Orient Express presented a doctoral education in
mystery solving across her 100-plus books. At the time of her death, she was
the best-selling author in the English language, as many, many cover blurbs
proclaimed at the time. But, you ask, what about the great mysterious event in
her life three-quarters of a century ago? What, ho? Let me explain.
Londoners woke on the morning of December 7, 1926, to find
the front page of the Daily Mirror covered with photos of Christie and the
search parties seeking her. The headline trumpeted: “Mystery of Woman
Novelist’s Disappearance.” Christie was missing, having left behind an
abandoned car containing a bag of clothes and her fur coat. Luminaries such as
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers were drafted into the search effort.
Suspicion fell on Christie’s husband, Archie, who had been
having an affair. The ensuing week and a half brought a great deal of publicity
and very little in the way of results. As opposed to C.S.I. or The Murder of Roger
Ackroyd, grim patience solves more crimes in the
real world. Like other unhappy spouses and spouses-to-be over the years,
Christie had run away. She was recognized as a guest at a hotel in Harrogate. The police did not
endorse her claims of amnesia, though they were forgiving based on the current
stress of her life. (In addition to her husband’s straying, Christie had
recently nursed her mother through a fatal illness.) However, it took Christie
two more years to dispose of Archie in divorce.
This article appears in Dec 13-19, 2006.
