The Christie Affair

In her third adult novel (after The Last September), de Gramont tells the story of Agatha Christie’s famous 11-day disappearance, from the point of view of her husband Colonel Christie’s mistress, Nan O’Dea. In 1926, Agatha Christie went missing after her husband told her he wanted a divorce. As this story unfolds, the search for Agatha and the description of her time away are intertwined with Nan’s life story, including her stay in an Irish home for single pregnant women run by nuns. In the fashionable spa town of Harrogate, Nan and Agatha meet up, and romances, secrets on all sides, long-held grudges, and a house dubbed the “Timeless Manor” result in a fascinating, if unlikely, explanation of what happened during those 11 days. De Gramont has done her research, resulting in a story that transports readers to early 20th-century Ireland and the English countryside.