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'What did happen to Agatha Christie during her mysterious eleven-day disappearance just as she was on the cusp of fame? Mixing fact and fantasy, an entrancing novel of creativity and grief.
'From the winner of the Dobbie Literary Award, the Barbara Ramsden Award and the Andrew Eiseman Award.
'Yes, she said, finally. Breaks are important. There are times when it's wiser to get away. From it all.
'It was the work of a moment: On 4 December 1926, Agatha Christie became Teresa Neele, resident of the spa hotel, the Harrogate Hydro. With her wedding ring left behind, and her minimal belongings unpacked, the lost days begin.
'Lying to her fellow guests about the death of a husband and child, Teresa settles in to the anonymity she so fiercely desires. Until Harry McKenna, bruised from the end of his own marriage, asks her to dance.
'In this entrancing novel of creativity and grief, Kristel Thornell combines fact and fantasy to reconstruct Agatha Christie's retreat from a life that had become too difficult. With verve and sensitivity, Thornell imagines what Christie could not write.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also large print.
- Dyslexic edition.
Works about this Work
-
The Elusive Agatha
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Good Reading , October 2016; (p. 24-26) 'The mystery surrounding Agatha Christie’s 1926 disappearance provided the inspiration for On the Blue Train, the second novel of US-based Australian author KRISTEL THORNELL. She tells MAUREEN EPPEN how her research led her to parts of England where the celebrated mystery author lived – and to the North Yorkshire hotel where she spent her ‘lost’ days.' -
Francesca Sasnaitis Reviews 'On the Blue Train' by Kristel Thornell
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 386 2016; (p. 67)
— Review of On the Blue Train 2016 single work novel 'On the Blue Train is Kristel Thornell’s reimagining of Agatha Christie’s mysterious disappearance in 1926. Thornell might have let her imagination fly, given that both Dorothy L. Sayers and Arthur Conan Doyle involved themselves in the nationwide search for the missing woman, but instead she has stuck close to the established facts: Agatha was grieving over her beloved mother’s recent death when her husband Archibald asked for a divorce; there was a fracas; Agatha’s car was found abandoned; she vanished and was discovered ten days later, using the surname of Archibald’s lover, at a spa hotel in Harrogate.' (Introduction) -
Agatha Christie Goes Undercover
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 15 October 2016; (p. 40)
— Review of On the Blue Train 2016 single work novel ; The Safest Place in London 2016 single work novel -
Eleven Days in December
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 9 October 2016; (p. 7)
— Review of On the Blue Train 2016 single work novel -
Secrets behind the Agatha Christie Mystery
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 October 2016; (p. 21)
— Review of On the Blue Train 2016 single work novel
-
Secrets behind the Agatha Christie Mystery
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 October 2016; (p. 21)
— Review of On the Blue Train 2016 single work novel -
Eleven Days in December
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 9 October 2016; (p. 7)
— Review of On the Blue Train 2016 single work novel -
Agatha Christie Goes Undercover
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 15 October 2016; (p. 40)
— Review of On the Blue Train 2016 single work novel ; The Safest Place in London 2016 single work novel -
Francesca Sasnaitis Reviews 'On the Blue Train' by Kristel Thornell
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 386 2016; (p. 67)
— Review of On the Blue Train 2016 single work novel 'On the Blue Train is Kristel Thornell’s reimagining of Agatha Christie’s mysterious disappearance in 1926. Thornell might have let her imagination fly, given that both Dorothy L. Sayers and Arthur Conan Doyle involved themselves in the nationwide search for the missing woman, but instead she has stuck close to the established facts: Agatha was grieving over her beloved mother’s recent death when her husband Archibald asked for a divorce; there was a fracas; Agatha’s car was found abandoned; she vanished and was discovered ten days later, using the surname of Archibald’s lover, at a spa hotel in Harrogate.' (Introduction) -
The Elusive Agatha
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Good Reading , October 2016; (p. 24-26) 'The mystery surrounding Agatha Christie’s 1926 disappearance provided the inspiration for On the Blue Train, the second novel of US-based Australian author KRISTEL THORNELL. She tells MAUREEN EPPEN how her research led her to parts of England where the celebrated mystery author lived – and to the North Yorkshire hotel where she spent her ‘lost’ days.'
