Did Arthur Conan Doyle Murder for the Baskervilles Story? She was eventually recognized by one of the hotels banjo players, Bob Tappin, who alerted the police. However, all these efforts were futile. The Christies' strained marriage. Perhaps it's as simple as Agatha made it out to be, but even that theory comes with its unanswered questions. Someone who had the same surname as Archies lover, someone who came from a place where she and Archie had been happy. By the second week of the search, the news had spread around the world. Mr W Taylor, the hotels manager, stated later that his guest took a good room on the first floor, fitted with hot and cold water. 2009-2021 Historic Mysteries. Her disappearance would spark one of the largest manhunts ever mounted. She changed her name, went to Kings Cross and bought a ticket to the spa resort of Harrogate.. But she deliberately played on the fact that she seemed so ordinary. However, as my daughter was with me in the car, I dismissed the idea at once. The car sparked one of the largest investigations the United Kingdom has ever seen. While the possibility of suicide was still there, many detectives believed that Christie was alive and not far from where her car was found. Christie arrived with no suitcase, but explained she had recently come from South Africa and had left her luggage with friends. The search seemed to center on a pond called the Silent Pool, which, according to local legend, was bottomless. I left the wheel and let the car run. Save 70% on the shop price when you subscribe today - Get 13 issues for just $49.99 + FREE access to HistoryExtra.com, The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie, Enjoying HistoryExtra.com? By December 1926, police and detectives concluded that Agatha Christie had left her home for good. In 1930, Agatha also remarried. My wife, hed said to a reporter, had discussed the possibility of disappearing at will engineering a disappearance had been running through her mind, probably for the purpose of her work. Such was the speculation that the home secretary of the day, William Joynson-Hicks, put pressure on the police to make faster progress. When the fight was over, Christie went upstairs, kissed her seven-year-old daughter goodnight, and left the house in her Morris Cowley. It was reported that Agatha had suffered from an utter loss of memory which made her take an assumed name. The next theory is that Christie purposefully staged her disappearance to ruin her husbands life. The car evidently had run away, and only a thick hedge-growth prevented it from plunging into the pit.. But there was one important development. In his book, The Finished Portrait, Norman says that her adoption of a new personality - she took the name Teresa Neele - and failure to recognise herself in newspaper photographs were signs that the novelist had fallen into a psychogenic amnesia after a period of depression. Fairfax Media In my novel, we find Christie at a low . Review by Carol Memmott. They had no idea of the identity of their fellow passenger, and proceeded to discuss the most famous author in the world. When I told people I was writing about Christie, their first questions were often about the 11 dramatic days in 1926 when she disappeared at the height of her writing career, causing a nationwide hunt for her corpse. Why not try 6 issues of BBC History Magazine or BBC History Revealed for 9.99 delivered straight to your door, Arsenic: a brief history of Agatha Christies favourite murder weapon. * Laura Thompson Agatha Christie An English Mystery Google Books ** Andrew Norman The Disappearing Novelist Google Books Wikipedia. Along with this first theory, the second theory is that Christie disappeared while in a dissociative fugue. And then we have the more cynical and derogatory theory that the disappearance was a publicity stunt. She lost her way of life and her sense of self. It is possible that she disappeared with the intention of ruining her husbands weekend getaway with his mistress. Agatha Christies own words deepen mystery of the Queen of Crime. The solution to the darkest of all Agatha Christie mysteries may be at hand. What can be pieced together about the mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie? They both had her paperbacks. The novelists car was found abandoned near Guildford on the edge of a chalk pit, the front wheels actually overhanging the edge, the paper reported. Around 9.45pm, without warning, she drove away from the house, having first gone upstairs to kiss her sleeping daughter, Rosalind. Did she really go into hiding to frame her husband for murder? The police concluded that Mrs. Christie must have been nearby and potentially injured, and initiated a search for her. Mrs. Llewellyn-Smythe was a wealthy widow who died before the novel began. I left the wheel and let the car run. All the elements of a classic Christie story were there. Its possible that Christie went out that night to blow off steam and something else occurred to trigger a fugue state but, again, we dont have anything to point to that. She told them she had been driving past a quarry on Dec. 3, 1926, when. It is said that the discovery of this affair and Archies request for a divorce was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back, especially since it followed the death of Agathas beloved mother Clara from bronchitis. It was like a plot from one of her own novels: On the evening of Dec. 4, Agatha Christie, carrying nothing but an attach case, kissed her daughter good night and sped away from the home in England that she shared with her husband, Col. Archibald Christie. The milder have her down as a woman wronged, with an understandable desire for revenge. But there was no sign of Agatha Christie herself and nor was there any evidence that shed been involved in an accident. Norman says that her adoption of a new personality, Theresa Neele, and her failure to recognize herself in newspaper photographs were signs that she had fallen into psychogenic amnesia. Agatha Miller met her future husband, Archibald "Archie" Christie, at a local dance in 1912. Several plausible theories have competed for favour . Searching for a body in the poolwas considered hopeless and the police feared it would never be recovered. Agatha Christie's disappeared for 11 . There is no evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, to point to this, but I suppose it makes sense on a certain level that people would jump to this. Lets explore. Had the author run away from her heartbreak, unsure of where she was going or what to do? Christie had left three letters behind: one to her secretary, another to her brother-in-law and a third to her husband, who refused to divulge what she had written. The solution to the darkest of all Agatha Christie mysteries may be at hand. This article was first published on HistoryExtra in October 2014, Enjoying HistoryExtra.com? Sure enough, the woman known to staff as Theresa Neale blew in without a glance at Archie. Tressa Neele. When asked, Col. Christie insisted he had no idea what the meaning of that particular name was nor, he added, did his wife. This was no doubt as a result of the Miller familys own decent into poverty after Agathas father, an affluent American businessman, was stricken by a number of heart attacks leading to his death in November 1901 when Agatha was only 11 years old. Missing Three Flannan Isles Lighthouse Keepers. Its possible that Christie went out that night to blow off steam and something else occurred to trigger a fugue state but, again, we dont have anything to point to that. The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Was it revenge, depression or amnesia? Her car is located some 15 miles (24 km) away the next morning next to a flooded chalk quarry, but no trace of the author can be found. The alternative position is that she was faking it, even trying to frame Archie for killing her. An abandoned car is found. On Friday 3 December 1926, the English crime novelist Agatha Christie vanished from her home in Berkshire. After the initial act of leaving, though, Im less convinced of what happened, simply because eleven days is a long time to stay gone. And so, dazed, distressed, but alive, she got out of her car. On Monday morning, Asher noticed Christie had the London newspaper taken up with breakfast in bed. Based on what we know, I lean towards the idea that Christie left her home in a fit of passion she was likely angry and frustrated with her husband, and possibly feeling hopeless at the situation she found herself in. To anyone. She was married in 1914 to Archibald (Archie) Christie, at the beginning of the First World War. Here's what we do know: In 1926, Agatha's husband, Archie, asked her for a divorce. One of the greatest minds in murder mystery writing goes off the grid maybe she was called to do so. Spiritualists even held a sance at the chalk pit. Alfred Lord Tennyson is one of the most famous English poets of all time, with a career spanning 62 years, The most famous of all English playwrights was born in 1564 and died on St Georges Day, in 1616. I left home that night in a state of high nervous strain with the intention of doing something desperate. That Sunday evening, two men went to Harrogate police station to report their suspicion that Mrs Christie was staying in the hotel where they worked. A young boy saw the car and alerted the police. It is possible that she disappeared with the intention of ruining her husbands weekend getaway with his mistress. I love this story because it sums up so much about Agatha Christies life. The relatively unknown writer suddenly became front page news and a handsome reward was offered for any new evidence or sightings. Some journalists ventured to suggest that the novelist had deliberately drowned herself. At the encouragement of her older sister, Margaret herself a writer who was often published in Vanity Fair Agatha wrote the first of her many detective novels, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. And so the most intriguing of all of Christies mysteries remains unsolved! The police, scrambling for clues, turned to Christies manuscripts, examining what they thought was her work in progress, The Blue Train., Between 10,000 and 15,000 people took part in the search for Mrs. Christie, aided by six trained bloodhounds, a crate load of Airedale terriers, many retrievers and Alsatian police dogs, and even the services of common mongrels.. The mystery of Christie's 11-day disappearance in 1926 is . Sure enough, Archie recognized the woman as his missing wife. And then we have the more cynical and derogatory theory that the disappearance was a publicity stunt. I remember arriving at a big railway station, she recalled, eventually, and being surprised to learn it was Waterloo., It is strange, she said, that the railway authorities there did not recall me, as I was covered with mud and I had smeared blood on my face from a cut on my hand.. However, the couple went their separate ways soon afterwards with Archie marrying Nancy Neale and Agatha marrying archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan and no one involved ever spoke of the disappearance again. The more extreme notably the feature film Agatha, made in 1979 present her as the would-be murderer of Nancy Neele. She kissed her sleeping daughter Rosalind, aged seven, goodnight and made her way back downstairs again. Then she climbed into her Morris Cowley and drove off into the night. They said Christies brother-in-law had received a letter from her, saying she was going to a Yorkshire spa for rest and treatment. Case closed, right? Years later, it was revealed that Agatha Christie had, in fact, used the name of her husbands girlfriend. Her state of mind was very low and she writes about it later through the character of Celia in her autobiographical novel Unfinished Portrait.. According to The New York Times, Agatha refused to talk about it, ever, for the rest of her life. But she was desperate for her life to unfold in an orderly fashion. On a fateful Friday evening, on December 3, 1926, Agatha Christie drives off in her cherished Morris Cowley, leaving her seven-year-old daughter and her nanny behind. Her husband never revealed what she had written to him in the letter. All rights reserved. Alone, and using an assumed name, she had been living in a spa hotel in Harrogate since the day after her disappearance, even though news of her case had reached as far as the front page of the New York Times. When I reached a point on the road which I thought was near the quarry, I turned the car off the road down the hill toward it. ), Over 90 years later, biographers and historians are still debating what happened during those days in 1926. A new biography of the crime writer claims her 11-day disappearance was due to out-of-body amnesia, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. But Norman, a former doctor, believes the novelist was in a fugue state, or, more technically, a psychogenic trance, a rare, deluded condition brought on by trauma or depression, which may also have led the writer and actor Stephen Fry to travel to Bruges in 1995 without leaving word with his friends or family. This months mystery is another literary one. [ In Agatha Christies books, she captures something elemental about mysteries: that motive and opportunity may suffice for a crime, but the satisfying part is the detectives revelation of whodunit, how and why. ], The police, apparently unconvinced by the letter, expanded their search, even bringing one of Christies pets to the scene to see if he could track his owners scent. On the 8th of December, 1926, the police called off the search for Agatha, saying that her brother-in-law had received a letter from her. So she went down for dinner, and even took part in the evenings dancing. This was the action that would leave her family, friends and the police absolutely flummoxed. Christies disappearance had the impact it did because of the 1920s context that saw a new kind of media celebrity being created. The fact that the driver was missing but the headlights were on and a suitcase and coat remained in the back seat only fuelled the mystery. The paper reported that the police had found some important clues nearby, including a bottle labeled poison lead and opium, fragments of a torn-up postcard, a womans fur-lined coat, a box of face powder, the end of a loaf of bread, a cardboard box and two childrens books., Perhaps more ominous, was the detectives new theory: The police have information which they refuse to divulge and which leads them to the view that Mrs. Christie had no intention of returning when she left home.. This proved no less futile. Agatha Christie was the master of mystery: Books like "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile" made her the world's best-selling author (two billion copies sold) and have . The author's books have sold more than two billion copies and her stage play . On the evening of the 3rd of December, 1926, famous mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared. Conan Doyle, who was interested in the occult, took a discarded glove of Christie's to a medium, while Sayers visited the scene of the disappearance, later using it in the novel Unnatural Death. or a long time, people investigating Christies disappearance have tended towards one of two positions. In 1926, the Englishwoman disappeared for 11 days, spurring a nationwide search. Benedict tells Christies story through parallel constructs. Agatha is then said to have left her daughter with their maid and departed the house later that same evening, thus beginning one of the most enduring mysteries she had ever masterminded. Shed been to the WH Smith Library in Parliament Street, where the librarian gathered from her selections that she had a taste for novels of sensation and mystery. It was a public image she carefully crafted to conceal her real self. By June 1926, Agatha Christie had published six of her most famous works and was considered a promising author of mystery novels starring her Belgian detective Poirot. In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days. Benedict has written compelling biographical fiction about other famous women to great effect. I was flung against the steering wheel, and my head hit something. But she was no longer prepared to tolerate her husbands philandering: she divorced him in 1928 and later married the distinguished archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan. The Silent Pool, a natural spring near the accident scene, for instance, was said to be the site of the death of a young girl and her brother and many thought the novelist had drowned herself there. The price of seven guineas a week caused her no hesitation: She seemed to have as much money as she wanted., Christies room was serviced by a young chambermaid named Rosie Asher, who seems to have kept a particularly close eye on her. Clothes and an expires drivers license were found in the car, but nothing to give an indication of where she had gone. The lane has been the scene of a murder of a woman and the suicide of a man. Later that day, after a visit to the shops, packages began to be delivered to her room: new hat, coat, evening shoes, books and magazines, pencil and fruit, and various toilet requisites. On the morning of Saturday 11 December, the Telegraph carried a big advert for a forthcoming serialisation of The Murder on the Links. Rather than confront the guest or gather information, they conducted a dining room stakeout. At the Hydro, people were beginning to suspect who Mrs Neele really was. What happened in those 11 days of disappearance remains a mystery worthy enough to be the plot of one of Christies novels. When he spoke to her, onlookers say she looked genuinely puzzled and didnt seem to recognize him. The car struck something with a jerk and pulled up suddenly. They came to the conclusion that Agatha Christie had left home and travelled to London, crashing her car en route. The Times reported that Christie had checked in to the Harrogate spa under the name Mrs. Searchers try to find clues to Christie's disappearance. Agatha Christie led a long and eventful life, which this author has managed to cover in 240 pages. Yes, she was easy to overlook, as is the case with nearly any woman past middle age. The episode continues to fascinate. Some said the incident was nothing more than a publicity stunt, a clever ruse to promote her new book. Agatha seldom spoke about what happened in December 1926. One is that, in the days after the crash, she was experiencing the specific condition of dissociative fugue a state brought on by trauma and stress, in which you literally forget who you are. It was left to the police to piece together what might have taken place. Her chambermaid noted that on Sunday, while police were searching the Surrey Downs for her, or her body, she slept until 10am, had breakfast in bed and then went out. You cant write your fate, Christie would say, years later, but you can do what you like with the characters you create. It is possible, and even a reasonable assumption that Agatha had not lost her memory but was depressed and resentful towards her husband for his affair with Miss Neele. Its told, day by day, through the loathsome Archie, and in these chapters, Benedict alludes to secrets Archie is hiding from the police, including his engagement to another woman. On the Tuesday, the Daily Mail ran an editorial. She took a taxi to a hotel, apparently picked at random, called the Hydropathic. The premise Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890. The disappearance of Christie made headlines on December 6th, and suddenly the world was cast into grave worry over the fate of their favorite mystery writer. She played billiards and even sang aloud. By this stage, Christie was already a celebrity. However, later she claimed to have regained her memory, and to this day, people wonder whether it was amnesia, depression, or something else that made Agatha disappear the way she did at the end of 1926. However, Agatha had left three letters, one for her husband, one for her secretary, and another for her brother-in-law: the one that was passed on to the police. All of the theories in this case fall under one of two headings either Christie disappeared due in some part to her husband, or that she disappeared for an unrelated reason. That's rightthe Queen of Mystery literally disappeared at one time, turning her life into a mystery straight out of her novels and creating theories about what happened that persist today, almost a century later. These were obviously the words of Christies publishers, not Christie herself. To this day, historians are not sure what happened with Agatha during those 11 days of disappearance. The author herself had had enough of reading the papers. While Christies husband denied that he knew who this Tressa was, the woman he wished to marry was named Nancy Neele. Rewards were offered; Archie was at first suspected of foul play. The famous 11-day disappearance of writer Agatha Christie in the 1920s has long bamboozled biographers, but the mystery may now finally be solved. Books have been written and movies have been made including, most recently, the 2018 film, Agatha and the Truth of Murder, which speculates she spent those missing days solving a real homicide. Her disappearance sparked a nationwide search, with more than a thousand people involved, both police officers and volunteers from the public. . All rights reserved. (So did Archibald Christie: His new wife was none other than Miss Neele. While Christie explained the disappearance and her loss of memory were the result of a nervous breakdown, the press and later generations of fans have come up with other, more sinister theories . All rights reserved. The novelist was found at a Yorkshire spa, nine days after she disappeared. Christie was 36 at the time and had already published several detective novels, including "The Secret Adversary" and "The Murder on the Links.". I cannot be bothered with her. Also, according to this witness, Christie was beginning to show signs of mental distress. (modern), gatha Christie was sitting quietly on a train when she overheard a stranger saying her name. Perhaps hoping to divert attention away from Nancy Neele, he introduced the idea that maybe his wife had deliberately disappeared. That night I felt terribly miserable. For example, some people believed that the author disappeared to run away from her house, which had a reputation of being haunted. On arriving at the spa town, she checked into the Swan Hydro now the Old Swan Hotel with almost no luggage. Catalogue ref: J 77/2492/7646. Agatha Christie was already a famous writer and more than one thousand policemen were assigned to the case, along with hundreds of civilians. He had fallen in love with a younger . Agatha Christie is one of history's foremost crime novelists. Released by the Berkshire County Police, in which Agatha Christie lived at the time of her disappearance. Its a rare condition brought on by trauma or depression. The Home Secretary, William Joynson-Hicks, urged the police to make faster progress in finding her. Suggestions ranged from a nervous breakdown brought on by the death of her mother and embarrassment of her husbands affair, to a cynical publicity stunt to promote the successful but still little known author. Her disappearance merited . The theories that fall under the unrelated-to-husband umbrella arevaried. The missing 11 days have never been explained. Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890 in Torquay, Devon, the youngest of Clara and Frederick Millers three children. You can unsubscribe at any time. Hallowe'en Party's Story Is A Classic Agatha Christie Mystery. Their specialist knowledge, it was hoped, would help find the missing writer. Agatha regained her memory, which is why it could not have been complete amnesia. She had been presented with the idea of divorce by her husband, who had been carrying on an affair. I felt that I could go on no longer. The sudden disappearance of Agatha Christie in December 1926 gave the British public a real-life taste of the kind of mystery she had shared with them in her stories. She wanted to drive off to somewhere unknown. She set out deliberately the facts shout it to throw murder suspicion upon her husband, says one of these writers. It was found abandoned on a steep slope at Newlands Corner near Guildford. The car struck something with a jerk and pulled up suddenly. Agatha Christie never spoke about the missing eleven days of her life and over the years there has been much speculation about what really happened between 3 and 14 December 1926. All of the theories in this case fall under one of two headings either Christie disappeared due in some part to her husband, or that she disappeared for an unrelated reason. Fifteen months after Agatha was found and returned home, she sued her husband for divorce, and Col. Christie married Nancy Neele a week after it was granted. As the first day of investigations progressed into the second and third and there was still no sign of her speculation began to mount. Why no one could have spotted her was blamed on a possible male disguise she might have been wearing, a conceit that could have come straight from one of her books. As the author remained missing, the sensation around the case grew. In 1926 the worlds bestselling author vanished for 11 days. Copyright Historic UK Ltd. Company Registered in England No. Unbeknown to the police and public who were looking for her in Surrey, matters in Yorkshire were moving swiftly towards a denouement. From there I went to Newlands Corner.. They tipped off her husband, Colonel Christie, who came to collect Agatha immediately. A theory floated by the police indicated that Mrs. Christie might have been in London the entire time. On the evening of 3 December 1926 the couple fought and Archie left their home to spend a weekend away with friends, including his mistress. She abandoned her car and walked away, out of her old life. 'Her state of mind was very low and she writes about it later through the character of Celia in her autobiographical novel, Unfinished Portrait.'.