This was one of the biggest country’s manhunts: more than a thousand police officers, up to 15,000 volunteers, and even her beloved dog searched for the missing writer. On top of that, two other famous writers – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers – joined in the search.

Agatha Christie had been missing for eleven days. She was found, safe and well, in Harrogate, Yorkshire. It turned out that she had checked into the hotel under the surname of “Neele,” the last name of Archie’s lady friend,which complicated the search. Agatha Christie didn’t comment on what had happened, claiming loss of memory. Doctors suggested she suffered a nervous breakdown. It’s still unclear whether her loss of memory was staged or caused by stress. Curiously, she didn’t recognize her husband Archie when he came to visit her. Agatha Christie never discussed the circumstances of her disappearance in detail, even with family or friends.

Anyway, the investigation came to a dead end. Amazingly, the mystery still remains unsolved, and we are left with more questions than answers. Who knows, maybe Agatha Christie wanted to let people finish the story for her.

Agatha and Archie split up. The divorce was tough on her. It took a while to cope with painful emotions and move on. Two years after divorcing Archie, Agatha married the archeologist Max Mallowan and joined him for regular expeditions to Iraq and Syria. I guess they bonded over the passion for traveling. Despite the difference in age – Agatha was fourteen years older than her husband – it was a happy marriage.

Agatha Christie was a very private person. And the more famous the writer became, the more she shunned publicity. Even so, she was full of life! Agatha would say, “I have sometimes been wildly despairing, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” As I see it, Agatha Christie was a true adventure seeker. Her wanderlust and spirit of adventure encouraged Agatha and her husband to go on a round-the-world trip for ten months.

Agatha Christie died on January 12, 1976, at age 85, but she will forever remain in the hearts of her devoted readers.

every family has a skeleton in the cupboard ['evr? 'faem(?)l? haez ? 'skel?tn ?n ?i: 'k?b?d] – в каждой семье есть свои скелеты в шкафу

be eager [bi 'i:g?] – жаждать, очень хотеть, стремиться что-либо сделать

action-packed ['aek?n paekt] – остросюжетный

puzzle over [p?zl '??v?] – ломать голову над чем-то

go missing [g?? 'm?s??] – пропасть без вести

missing person ['m?s?? p?:sn] – пропавший без вести

suspicious [s?'sp???s] – подозрительный, сомнительный

ring a bell [r?? ? bel] – быть знакомым, напоминать о чем-то/ком-то (идиома)

vanish/disappear ['vaen?? ?d?s?'p??] – исчезнуть

without a trace [w?'?a?t ? tre?s] – бесследно

lift the veil [l?ft ?i: ve?l] – приоткрыть завесу

unsurpassed [??ns?r'paest] – непревзойденный

be outsold (by) [bi aut's?uld bai] – иметь меньший спрос, чем что-либо другое

best-selling novelist [?best'sel?? 'n?:v?l?st] – автор бестселлеров, самый продаваемый писатель

novelist ['n?:v?l?st] – романист, писатель

novel ['n?:vl] – роман

mystery novel ['m?st?r? 'n?:vl] – детектив, детективный роман

detective story [d?'tekt?v 'st?:r?] – детектив, детективный роман

play [ple?] – спектакль, пьеса

autobiography [??:t?ba?'?:?r?fi] – автобиография

short story collection [??:t 'st?:r? k?'lek?n] – сборник коротких рассказов

pen name [pen ne?m] – литературный псевдоним

maiden name [me?dn ne?m] – девичья фамилия

publish ['p?bl??] – публиковать

thrilling ['?r?l??] – захватывающий, остросюжетный, увлекательный

iconic character [a?'k?:n?k 'kaer?kt?] – культовый, легендарный персонаж

interestingly ['?ntrest??li] – любопытно, примечательно

curiously ['kj??r??sl?] – любопытно, как ни странно

obviously ['?:bvi?sli] – очевидно, по-видимому

misfortune [m?s'f?:??n] – несчастье, беда, горе

out of the blue [a?t ?v ?i: blu:] – совершенно неожиданно, как гром среди ясного неба