Book Review of The Christie Affair – A Historical Fiction

Author – Nina De Gramont

Pages – 299 pages

Published in – February 2022

My Rating – 5 out of 5 stars

The Christie Affair by Nina De Gramont — Source – Amazon

Goodreads Blurb

Every story has its secrets.
Every mystery has its motives.

“A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman. It’s a particular feeling, the urge to murder. It takes over your body so completely, it’s like a divine force, grabbing hold of your will, your limbs, your psyche. There’s a joy to it. In retrospect, it’s frightening, but I daresay in the moment it feels sweet. The way justice feels sweet.”

The greatest mystery wasn’t Agatha Christie’s disappearance in those eleven infamous days, it’s what she discovered.

London, 1925: In a world of townhomes and tennis matches, socialites and shooting parties, Miss Nan O’Dea became Archie Christie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted and well-known wife, Agatha Christie.

The question is, why? Why destroy another woman’s marriage, why hatch a plot years in the making, and why murder? How was Nan O’Dea so intricately tied to those eleven mysterious days that Agatha Christie went missing?

My Review of The Christie Affair

The title ‘The Christie Affair’ might sound like a murder mystery to be solved by our mastermind Agatha Christie, but it’s not. This is the story of the disappearance of Agatha Christie for 11 days in the year 1926.

Disappearance of Agatha Christie – 1926

The disappearance of Agatha Christie is surrounded by mystery and chaos with no definite cause known to us. On December 3. 1926, Agatha Christie vanished from her home which was in Berkshire. Her Morris Cowley was found abandoned by the authorities on a steep slope at Newlands Corner near Guildford. The search for the person turned into the search of the body, but still, there was no sign of Mrs. Christie. As the days passed, this case gained media attention. Her sixth novel was already in the market, and she was a famous name by then.

After a lot of speculations, the involvement of two famous writers, Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers, airplane searches, and the involvement of the whole police department, the result was still a disappointment. On 14th December, 11 days later, Agatha Christie was located safe and sound in a hotel in Harrogate. The curiosity instead of ending, multiplied, when the crime novelist told the authorities that she remembered nothing at all of her disappearance. This makes this case much more interesting and speculative. (I can already imagine a sensational account of news headlines).

What’s The Christie Affair about?

So based on the speculations that were prominent during those days and some imagination, the author, Nina De Gramont begins the book The Christie Affair. The narrator is also Christie, the second wife of Mr. Christie, Nan O’Dea. It was said that the affair between these two might also be a reason for the sudden disappearance of Agatha Christie, the main reason in the book. Some said it was a case of hysteria whereas, some attributed it to a publicity stunt. In the book too, we will see different people speculating different theories, but what actually happened can only be imagined without any confirmation.

The Christie Affair begins with the discussion between Nan O’Dea and Mr. Christie about breaking the news of the affair to Agatha Christie. Nan is highly suspicious of her being aware of their affair but tries to agree with Mr. Christie. As it turns out, Agatha was aware of the affair. Still, the news when announced to her breaks her down. She pleads, yells, seduces, and tries all her tactics to make Mr. Christie stay, but fails.

And then comes the disappearance.

Themes in The Christie Affair

The story is based on the event of Agatha Christie’s disappearance but this doesn’t actually come to the center of the story. It is continuously happening in the background, where the narrator is lying low and recounts her past life.

The narrative shuffles from the present, 1926, to the First World War. The gruesomeness and the impact of the war upon the public are discussed. How it impacted different classes differently has also been shown by the author. The class difference, the war trauma, the condition of women in that period, the workings of the church, the life of unmarried mothers, the family conflicts between lovers, and the struggles of the lower class remains in the front of the story. The presence of multiple themes and that too based in post World War era makes this book a relevant depiction of the past and the trauma some still carry.

The narrative sometimes changed without any information, and then it turned back to O’Dea again. After the case deepens and the police forces begin to search for Mrs. Christie, the narrative shifted more and more.

Women’s Condition During Post-War Era

The conditions of the single mothers in the churches have been described in detail; the horrors they faced in the name of salvation might trigger some readers. There is also the depiction of trauma from the loss of a child. The shame single mothers were subjected to for loving someone and the biased punishment of women has been mentioned in detail. It reminds us that not even a hundred years ago, women were treated worse than animals.

The need for women’s education and self-dependency has also been portrayed in this book. In a world where men were the only means of safety for women, Agatha Christie not only made her name but lived a life that freed her from the constant need of a man. But all this became possible only because she became independent through her writings and earnings.

And while we talk about this book, we should never forget Nan O’Dea who fought fiercely for her love and bore all the hardships. She was treated with inhumanity, and yet she survived. She survived, escaped, and fought her way to the future she decided for herself and not the one that someone else chose for her. She fought for her love, then fought for her baby, then fought some more for herself. She was the woman of that era and showed us how strong a person can be. She showed how strong were the women about whom we read in this era. Through her story, we came to know about so many more women who remained unheard in some shady church or barn, working for their dreams and achieving them in a world that doesn’t even want to see her alive.

This book fills me with pain, shock, anger, and hope simultaneously. I don’t know how but it is true.

Prominent Men of the Book

The three men who remain in focus throughout the story are the men who have returned from war. All three of them represent a different section of veterans. They all have different backgrounds and the different ways in which the war has impacted them. I love how the author has wrapped so many different things in a single story under the guise of a completely different case.

The Murder Mystery

There is also a mystery case in the story. The murder mystery is not that riveting, and neither is the revelation. It is a mediocre one but not an awe-inspiring case. The settings of the book sometimes remind me of Agatha Christie’s books, and it brings a small smile to my face.

Conclusion to The Christie Affair

It is a marvelous book that I would like everyone to read. If not for the curious depiction of Agatha Christies’s disappearance, then for the multiple themes that have been meddled together to form such a vibrant read. It is a 5-star read for me. I hope you like it.

This book was the February pick for the Reese’s Book Club.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review

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