Eleven Days

Book of the Month,The Standard

In December of 1926, Agatha Christie vanished. Eleven days later, after frenzied media speculation, she was discovered alive and well. A century on, there are questions that have never been answered.

Now Christie biographer Laura Thompson seeks to penetrate the story of the greatest mystery ever created by the greatest ever mystery writer. ​​ In a new approach, Thompson undertakes a re-enactment of Christie’s movements: from the moment of driving away from her marital home, to the abandonment of her car and her arrival the following night at a Harrogate hotel. Based on conversations with people close to Christie – including her interviews with Christie’s only child, Rosalind – Eleven Days includes entirely new information about Christie’s first marriage.

Eleven episodes examine every aspect of the famous disappearance, seeking – as far as is possible – to penetrate the blank space in Agatha Christie’s long and brilliant life, which leaves her ever more emblematic of the genre that she defines.

This is a short, stylish book – an examination of a myth; a gleaming sliver of biography; an irresistible puzzle that the reader, too, will feel compelled to try and solve.