Marie Benedict’s The Mystery of Mrs. Christie tells a fictionalized version of what happened when Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days in 1926. Agatha had written a few books, but was not yet the famous, mystery-writing powerhouse that she became. No one knows what really happened; she claimed amnesia and no one ever came forward with a different story. Benedict takes that basic narrative and embellishes it extensively, exploring the years before the disappearance as well as the investigation around it and Agatha’s reappearance. The book’s chapters alternate between two timelines — 11 days in 1926 versus Agatha’s earlier life — until the timeline converges for part two. The chapters based in the earlier time focus on Agatha’s relationships with her husband, her mother, her sister, and her child. The 1926 chapters focus on the investigation and her husband’s reaction to her disappearance. It’s a successful structure for the story and the short chapters make for quick reading.
Spoilers are included below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know.
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie is somewhat engaging, though the daily look at the investigation drags a bit since it’s obvious what will happen after the prologue (and if you know anything about the disappearance). The non-investigation chapters move along at a good pace, jumping through time effectively. The book’s major flaw is that the characters are so completely unlikable. No one has any redeeming qualities, even the child. The police are pompous caricatures with no depth, the husband is a whiny, abusive narcissist, Agatha’s mother is overbearing and only worried about status and Agatha being a submissive wife, and Agatha’s sister is overbearing and belittles her at every opportunity.
Agatha herself is steamrolled by everyone in the book. She is one of the weakest woman characters I’ve read in a long time — perhaps ever. She has no identity outside of herself and is only motivated by other people’s thoughts of her. She doesn’t seem to have any internal life whatsoever. A few times, Agatha faintly thinks that maybe there is more to life than being subordinate to everyone around her but immediately quashes that idea in favor of being a wet rag of nothingness. Her mother tells her how to be a good wife, so she does that without question, even when her submission to her husband subsumes her. She has a vague idea to write, but her sister says she can’t possibly write well. She writes just to prove her sister wrong, not because she has needs of her own. Her motivation is external.
Her husband tells her what he wants in a wife, so she does that, no matter how abusive and cruel he is. The most incomprehensible plot point comes when Agatha announces she is pregnant and Mr. Christie whines that he doesn’t want to stop being the center of attention, so she emotionally neglects their daughter to keep him happy. Mrs. Christie is the ultimate enabler of an extreme narcissist.
The “twist” ending shows her suddenly become a mercenary, cold-hearted, scheming, vindictive woman. Are we supposed to believe that this complete about-face and development of a complex personality happened because of her husband’s infidelity? Benedict’s theory seems to be that Agatha Christie became the writer she is because her husband made her. She’s pushed into her life by outside forces and not driven by her own inner motivation, thoughts, or strength.
Women in the first part of the 20th century (and throughout history) were expected to meet societal expectations, often losing themselves in the process. However, women have always had personalities, ideas, and opinions — as well as actual thoughts and emotions. They were not mindless, simpering maids who existed only to serve their parents and husbands. Even the title The Mystery of Mrs. Christie indicates her lack of autonomy and personality: she’s Mrs. Christie, wife to a man, instead of Agatha Christie, an individual. Mrs. Christie was presented as a blank slate with little to no inner life, dominated by abusers. What should have been a triumphant and satisfying finding of oneself recasts her as a horrible, mercenary bitch. She still had no depth; she was a cartoon villain. This is not growth. This is a character’s traits being replaced wholesale by the opposite traits, with no trajectory of change indicated.
Rating: Not recommended, unless you like bad relationships and tedious characters.
