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A review by shelfofunread
The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The Christie Affair has a fantastic premise: what if there had been a real-life mystery behind the period during 1926 when best-selling novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days? Even better, what if that mystery involved both Christie and her husband Archie's mistress, here re-named Nan O'Dea?
Sadly, for me, the execution didn't deliver on the concept. And that reimagining of Archie's real-life second wife, Nancy Neele, into Nan O'Dea is one of the primary reasons for that.
Nan's personal story is a tragic one involving an Irish lover, an unexpected pregnancy, and a brutal forced incarceration. But it only becomes entwined with Agatha's life towards the end of the novel and has little relevance to her disappearance. Indeed, the 'twist' at the end that links the two women was, to me, both somewhat disrespectful to the real Agatha, Archie, and Nancy and also rather far-fetched and bizarre.
Nan's tale is, in and of itself, a very compelling one - and it is well told by the author, with an evocative sense of both character and place coming across on the page - but I just couldn't understand why the Christie connection had been made.
I understand that this is fiction but the title, blurb, and marketing of The Christie Affair suggested that the book "reimagines the unexplained eleven-day disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 that captivated the world". Yet instead of Nan's story revealing "the truth of [Agatha's] disappearance", it wholly alters several aspects of both Christie and Nancy Neele's lives, replacing the real women with compellingly-written but barely recognisable figures and 'reimagining' their biographies by inventing fictitious romances (for Christie) and traumatic secrets (for Nancy/Nan).
If The Christie Affair hadn't promised to be a novel about Agatha Christie, I suspect I'd have enjoyed it a lot more. It is clear that the author can write a compelling historical novel and create interesting, believable, and empathetic characters. Sadly, the Christie link ended up feeling like little more than a convenient and underutilised hook that detracted from an otherwise interesting - but very different - novel.
Sadly, for me, the execution didn't deliver on the concept. And that reimagining of Archie's real-life second wife, Nancy Neele, into Nan O'Dea is one of the primary reasons for that.
Nan's personal story is a tragic one involving an Irish lover, an unexpected pregnancy, and a brutal forced incarceration. But it only becomes entwined with Agatha's life towards the end of the novel and has little relevance to her disappearance. Indeed, the 'twist' at the end that links the two women was, to me, both somewhat disrespectful to the real Agatha, Archie, and Nancy and also rather far-fetched and bizarre.
Nan's tale is, in and of itself, a very compelling one - and it is well told by the author, with an evocative sense of both character and place coming across on the page - but I just couldn't understand why the Christie connection had been made.
I understand that this is fiction but the title, blurb, and marketing of The Christie Affair suggested that the book "reimagines the unexplained eleven-day disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 that captivated the world". Yet instead of Nan's story revealing "the truth of [Agatha's] disappearance", it wholly alters several aspects of both Christie and Nancy Neele's lives, replacing the real women with compellingly-written but barely recognisable figures and 'reimagining' their biographies by inventing fictitious romances (for Christie) and traumatic secrets (for Nancy/Nan).
If The Christie Affair hadn't promised to be a novel about Agatha Christie, I suspect I'd have enjoyed it a lot more. It is clear that the author can write a compelling historical novel and create interesting, believable, and empathetic characters. Sadly, the Christie link ended up feeling like little more than a convenient and underutilised hook that detracted from an otherwise interesting - but very different - novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Suicide, War, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Infertility