Detective queen: how Agatha Christie taught her spouse on a spree
'01.08.2020'
Source: Big Picture
The famous English writer Agatha Christie mysteriously disappeared on December 3, 1926. But in this case, the case was not of a criminal nature, but very personal, says Big Picture.
Agatha Mallowen, better known to the world under the pseudonym Agatha Christie, was distinguished by her subtle mind and vivid imagination, thanks to which she became the most read writer of the twentieth century.
Stormy fantasy helped her out not only in creating detective stories, but also in real life. Once she taught a traitorous spouse a good lesson.
How marriage turned into a detective story
Agatha met her future husband Archibald Christie at 22. They were both invited to a dinner party. Soon the gallant lieutenant proposed to her. Two years later, young people became husband and wife. Archibald made a successful career in the First World War. He returned from the war with the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1919, the couple had a daughter, who was named Rosalind.
By that time, Agatha had managed to publish several detective novels that brought her fame. It seemed that the family idyll would last forever. Nothing boded trouble. Until one day in 1926, the husband announced that he wanted to divorce. It turned out that Archibald had feelings for another lady. Agatha was shocked like any other woman in such a situation. She reacted in the spirit of famous detectives.
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Instead of starting a loud scandal with tears, reproaches, consolations of girlfriends, she conceived a sophisticated revenge. The queen of detectives warned the secretary that she was leaving for a few days. She got into the car and drove off somewhere. In the morning, her Morris car was found on the shores of Silent Pool. The police found a fur coat, a suitcase and no sign of the writer in the cabin.
Police investigation and ubiquitous journalists
The mysterious disappearance of the famous writer rocked the public. The newspapers were full of provocative headlines. Colonel Archibald Christie came under suspicion. The police became aware of his affair on the side. Detectives monitored the house, tapped the phone. The husband of the writer was in an extremely awkward position.
The police carefully examined the reservoir, on the banks of which they found the writer's car. The divers searched the bottom in search of the body, combed the lake with nets. The prim Englishmen followed the detective intrigue, expressed their own versions of what had happened. Hundreds of volunteers have joined the search for the detective queen.
At some point, the police were informed of a woman who was staying at a hotel in the provincial town of Harrowgate. She was listed in the registration book as Mrs. Neely from Cape Town.
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The detective, who was tasked with checking the information, secretly watched the guest for two days. Somehow, information about Mrs. Nilly became known to the press. The Daily News journalist did not care about conspiracy. Without further ado, he approached the visitor from Cape Town, addressing her as "Mrs. Agatha." The writer realized that she was revealed. She graciously gave an interview, skillfully avoiding uncomfortable questions.
Divorce and new love
The detective story of the disappearance caused a lot of worries for the unfaithful spouse. Agatha masterly avenged her affair and filed for divorce. The prim British recalled the mysterious disappearance for a long time.
The colonel's reputation suffered greatly. Society remembered him as a suspect in the murder of his wife, and not a war hero and a deserved soldier.
Four years later, Agatha Christie began a new relationship. In 1930, she met a talented archaeologist in Iraq. Max Mallowan was 14 years younger than his lover. But during the marriage, the newlyweds hid the age difference.
The rest of their lives, the lovers lived in perfect harmony, without adventures or disappearances. The inquisitive writer enjoyed accompanying the archaeologist in his studies of the Middle East.
