Title: The Christie affair
Author: Nina De Gramont
Year: 2022
Genre: mystery
Plot:
One day in December 1926, after informing his wife Agatha of his intention to divorce to marry his mistress, Colonel Archibald Christie leaves for a weekend with friends. That same evening from the country house, renamed Styles from the first case of Hercule Poirot, the writer vanishes into thin air. His Morris Cowley is found in the early morning light on the edge of a cliff. On the back seat, the fur coat, a suitcase full of clothes and the driving licence. The most plausible hypothesis is a desperate gesture, the lady had a severe nervous breakdown, it is whispered. Thousands of men, including policemen and volunteers, dogs, even aeroplanes: all of England is mobilized to look for her, as if the anguish that drove her to flee had made her the most important person on earth. Even Nan O’Dea, the mistress, is anxious…
In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days. Only I know the truth of her disappearance. I’m no Hercule Poirot. I’m her husband’s mistress.
The Christie affair written by Nina De Gramont is a critically acclaimed book for both its smooth writing and engaging content.
Starting from the disappearance of the famous mystery writer, which really happened in 1926, the author expertly weaves a plot starring Nan O’Dea, Mr. Christie‘s lover. To explain the story of this character in depth, the narrative is divided into two historical periods: 1926, the present in which Mrs. Christie‘s disappearance is being investigated; and the past, starting from the period immediately preceding the world war.
I don’t feel like defining this novel properly as a mystery because the mystery is only a small part of the narrative, there’s much more, especially love and revenge. Furthermore, it is good to specify that not being the protagonist, the mystery writer who gives the name to the title, is really present only in the final part of the story told.
The story is really well written and manages with its description to make the atmosphere of the historical period in which the events take place.
Nan O’Dea is a complicated character who, starting by appearing only as a superficial lover of a man, ends up proving to be a passionate and badass woman, with a past full of suffering that pushed her to become what she is now. In fact, through Nan’s past, we also enter the sinister history of the Magdalene Houses.
Although less present, the other characters are also well characterized: Agatha is exquisitely rendered as the elegant and well-educated woman she seems to really be, with the attitude of a woman who, although married, still follows her mother’s teachings and fears her judgement, and who places great importance on her work as a writer; while her husband, Colonel Archibald Christie appears as a pusillanimous man, easily tricked and who, despite having participated in the war, cannot handle the occasions that put him under stress.
Part of the novel gave me furious feelings, but then there were some really satisfying plot twists (one of these really Christie-style, which was very reminiscent of Ten Little Indians and Murder on the Orient Express…even if it lasted really too little).
In my opinion, this novel takes the figure of Agatha Christie and places her name in the title to attract readers, but the real purpose of this work is to show how war and its consequences have managed to change many people, irreparably changing the course of their lives leaving a bad taste in the mouth for what could have been. In particular, the condition of women is placed in a sad view.
Overall I really liked the novel thanks to the narration, very well done, which kept me in suspense until the end.
Curiosities
- Christie was herself the protagonist of a small thriller when she disappeared in 1926. Found after eleven days, she never revealed what had happened to her, using temporary amnesia as an excuse.
- Many hypotheses have been made about her disappearance. The two most accredited are that the woman disappeared to have her husband accused of her murder as revenge for his betrayal and his request for divorce; and, as a collaborator of the author admitted to having been informed by the woman about her location before the disappearance, that it was a publicity stunt.
- Christie was found in a hotel in Harrogate, where she had registered under the surname of her husband’s lover.
- This event is thought to have prompted the mystery writer to reflect on her life and change it for the better.
- The Magdalene Houses were established in the 19th century in honour of Mary Magdalene, a prostitute who repented of her sins, to welcome women victims of sin (prostitutes, pregnant single women, victims of rape, etc.) and rehabilitate them for life in society.
- The Houses turned into industrial laundries where women were held beyond their will and treated as unpaid slave labourers.
In 1993, 155 undeclared women bodies were found in a house in Dublin, which led to the opening of an investigation which led the investigators to find out what was really happening in these places. - The Magdalene Houses were finally closed in 1996 and are estimated to have housed more than 30,000 women.
