Gone Girl Trivia Quiz

Answer: Berkshire, 1926

Agatha Christie's disappearance began at her home in Berkshire (in the south of England) on the evening of December 3, 1926. After kissing her sleeping daughter, Rosalind, good night, she drove off in her Morris Cowley automobile. From then until she was rediscovered on December 14, we only have Agatha's account of what happened and a few additional clues.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was already a successful author with several published novels including "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", published in June of that year. Hercule Poirot and Tommy and Tuppence had already made their debuts although Miss Marple had not. If this had been the end of Agatha's writing career, her books would take up a far smaller space on the shelf than they do.

Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L. Sayers

If you are familiar with your mystery authors, you may be able to dismiss Wilkie Collins (who died in 1889) and Peter Tremayne (who was born in 1943). Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes although he also had a deep interest in Spiritualism in his later life.

He brought one of Agatha's gloves to a medium hoping for a psychic clue. The attempt was fruitless. Dorothy L Sayers (1893-1957), who created Lord Peter Wimsey, came to the scene of the disappearance and looked for clues.

This was similarly fruitless. Both authors were correct, however, in predicting that Agatha would be found alive.

Answer: Airplanes

In addition to airplanes, over 1,000 members of various police forces and 15,000 human volunteers plus several dogs participated in the search for Agatha. The use of airplanes allowed for coverage of a fairly wide area. During the period of her disappearance, Agatha's story was a front page story on British newspapers.

As the length of the disappearance lengthened, police increasingly feared that they would find a corpse, not a person.

Answer: Her automobile

The car was found above a stone quarry near the town of Guildford. Inside the car were an expired driver's license and several articles of clothing. Based on the condition of the car, police investigators guessed (correctly) that Agatha had not been involved in a traffic accident. Since her body was not in or near the car, police further guessed that she had not been injured nor committed suicide.

Answer: Her mother

Agatha's mother had died several months previously, in April. By the time she had disappeared, Agatha was aware of her husband, Archie, being involved in an affair and wanting to divorce her. In fact, he had told Agatha that morning that he would be spending the weekend with his mistress.

There was a period where Agatha hoped to save her marriage. Was the letter to him written towards that end? Both Archie and his brother Campbell had each burned his letter shortly after receiving it. The letter to Agatha's secretary discussed scheduling issues.

Answer: Yorkshire

The hotel was located in Harrowgate, Yorkshire. Agatha was register at the hotel under the name Mrs. Tressa Neele. "Neele" was the same surname as Archie's mistress, Nancy Neele. The next day--December 15, 1926, Agatha traveled to her sister's home where she entered a period of isolation from the outside world.

Answer: No

Hotel maids described Agatha as getting multiple newspapers a day while she was at the hotel. Her story was likely on the front page of most of them. In addition, during her time at the hotel, Agatha played pool, played the piano for her fellow guests, and read mystery novels. She also needed to take some time to purchase clothing to replace what she left behind.

Answer: Yes

Agatha's husband Archie continued to maintain that he believed Agatha suffered from temporary memory loss. Two doctors who examined Agatha soon after her return home supported this diagnosis. Agatha said that she had hit her head when the car crashed and that was caused the memory loss. At the time she was found, however, there was no evidence of such an injury (assuming such a blow would leave a visible mark several days later).

An alternate theory suggested by Christie's biographer, Andrew Norman, is that depression caused by her husband's affair and desire for a divorce brought on a "fugue" state in Agatha that could have included memory loss.

Answer: She very seldom talked about it

Agatha discussed the disappearance once in an interview in 1928. She said that she had hit her head and temporarily lost her memory. She did not willingly discuss it after that. It is not mentioned in her autobiography. A friend or acquaintance who tried to discuss it with her would quickly find her distancing herself. Though Agatha was and would remain an author of highly popular works, public reaction to her disappearance was largely negative. The two most common public theories were that it was a publicity stunt or that she was trying to frame her husband for murder. In any case, she was never placed on trial for fraud or any other crime committed with the disappearance.

Interestingly, several of her works--both before and after 1926--include a woman disappearing and using a disguise as a plot point. Coincidence or meaningful?

Answer: She divorced her first husband and married a second husband

Her first husband, Archibald Christie (1889-1962), had asked Agatha for a divorce in June 1926 so that he could marry his affair partner. It is suggested that Agatha's feelings about this may have led to her disappearance. The Christies divorced in 1928 and in 1930 Agatha married her second husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan (1904-1977). Agatha accompanied Max on several of his archaeological expeditions, which provided inspiration for several of her mysteries.