Where's Agatha Gone?

Dec 3, 2024

The intriguing disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 takes center stage. After discovering her husband's infidelity, she vanished for 11 days, sparking a nationwide manhunt. Theories ranged from murder to suicide, while Christie was found living under an alias in a spa town. Exploring her mental struggles, the hosts discuss how this event may have influenced amateur sleuths and reflect on her unique way of addressing the mystery through her fiction. The episode unveils the captivating blend of personal trauma and literary genius.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

The Enigmatic Disappearance of Agatha Christie

02:53 • 2min

The Mysterious Disappearance: A Literary Figure's Journey to Identity

05:10 • 3min

The Enigmatic Disappearance of Agatha Christie

07:51 • 2min

The Aftermath of Agatha Christie's Disappearance

10:17 • 2min

Renowned detective novelist Agatha Christie found herself at the centre of a real-life mystery: when she mysteriously disappeared for 11 days, from 3rd December, 1926.

Shortly after learning of her husband's infidelity, Christie had driven away from the family home, abandoning her car near a quarry. There was a massive manhunt as theories circulated in the newspapers, including murder, suicide, or intentional disappearance. Eventually she was spotted in a spa hotel in Harrogate, living under an assumed identity.

In this episode, The Retrospectors investigate what Christie got up to during her mental fugue; consider whether this event triggered the trend for amateur sleuths joyriding on real-life crimes; and reveal how the novelist’s most detailed description of the event occurs not in her autobiography, but in a novel she wrote under a pseudonym…

CONTENT WARNING: attempted suicide, post-traumatic mental illness.