THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR
Nina de Gramont
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St. Martin's Press
2/1/22
Historical Fiction / Mystery
Hardcover/ 320 pages
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February "Reese's Book" Club Pick
"A genuine marvel."
-Kristin Hannah
"A must-read."
–Booklist (Starred Review)
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The Christie Affair is a beguiling novel of star-crossed lovers, heartbreak, revenge, and murder—and a brilliant re-imagination of one of the most talked-about unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century.
Every story has its secrets. Every mystery has its motives.
“A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman. It’s a particular feeling, the urge to murder. It takes over your body so completely, it’s like a divine force, grabbing hold of your will, your limbs, your psyche. There’s a joy to it. In retrospect, it’s frightening, but I daresay in the moment it feels sweet. The way justice feels sweet.”
The greatest mystery wasn’t Agatha Christie’s disappearance in those eleven infamous days, it’s what she discovered.
London, 1925: In a world of townhomes and tennis matches, socialites. and shooting parties, Miss Nan O’Dea became Archie Christie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted and well-known wife, Agatha Christie. The question is, why? Why destroy another woman’s marriage, why hatch a plot years in the making, and why murder? How was Nan O’Dea so intricately tied to those eleven mysterious days that Agatha Christie went missing?
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Dear Reader,
Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time. In photos, she cuts a stalwart figure, with carefully coifed gray curls and a kind but formidable gaze. Isn’t it amazing, then, to think of her as a young woman, her career in its childhood if not its infancy – heartbroken enough to run away, and stay hidden, even while she knew the whole world searched for her?
For The Christie Affair. I wanted to imagine an Agatha we hadn’t seen before. Vulnerable and at sea, believing life as she knew it had come to an irreparable end. Emotional devastation can be a great catalyst for adventure. And that’s what I felt she deserved: an adventure to change her ideas about what her world should look like, and grant her new wherewithal to face the better life that waited for her on the other side of her marriage.
-Nina de Gramont
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THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR
Book Club Menu
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Most of the food Agatha Christie eats in The Christie Affair is scavenged on the run. I don't want to subject your book club to tinned tongue and orange pippin apples! So let’s stick to Agatha’s last supper with Archie, before he breaks the news, and she still thinks there’s a chance of winning him back. Agatha Christie did not drink, but in this scene, she holds a glass of Scotch to keep her husband company. I suggest a sweet single malt served with sharp cheddar, melty brie, and stone wheat crackers. Maybe some nuts and olives, too.
My father, who was French, kept a cache of jokes about British food. But even he loved Beef Wellington, which is what Agatha serves to her soon-to-be-estranged husband. She has a cook to prepare it, but premade puff pastry makes this dish perfectly accessible even without a kitchen staff (you can also order it from Williams-Sonoma or Harry and David. I won't tell). Brussels sprouts and garlic mashed potatoes make wonderful accompaniments. Serve with a nice pinot noir.
For dessert, if you want to stick strictly to the theme, you could make a plum pudding like the one in Christie’s short story, “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.” The Christie Affair takes place in December, so it would be perfectly appropriate to serve what Christie called “…the old desserts, the Elvas and Carlsbad plums and almonds and raisins, and crystalized fruit and ginger.” But Beef Wellington is enough a culinary feat to accomplish for one evening. It’s also quite rich, so it would be fine to serve thin sugar cookies with Earl Grey tea.
-Nina de Gramont
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