Agatha Christie - Her Mysterious Memory Loss - Biographical Documentary

Agatha Christie’s greatest mystery - her own disappearance - solved.
On the evening of 3 December 1926, Agatha Christie quarrelled with her husband. She then disappeared from her home and her abandoned car was found the following morning at the edge of a chalk quarry.
What could have happened? Hundreds of police officers and thousands of volunteers combed the frozen countryside for days. The Home Secretary put pressure on the police, and a newspaper offered a huge reward for information. Fellow crime writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle even called in a medium to try to find her.
Eleven days later she was found 180 miles away at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire - she claimed to have lost her memory.
After initial relief that she was safe, public reaction turned sour, angry at the waste of time and resources - the popular theory was that the whole thing was a publicity stunt or an attempt to frame her husband for murder.
Or did she suffer a nervous breakdown and act in a state of confusion and dissociation, known as a fugue state.
I examine all the evidence from my perspective as a forensic neuropsychiatrist to get to the bottom of Agatha Christie’s greatest mystery.
References:
Cade, J (2006) Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days. Peter Owen Ltd.
Christie, A (1977) An Autobiography. Collins.
Janet, P. (1907). The major symptoms of hysteria: Fifteen lectures given in the medical school of Harvard University. Macmillan.
Le, X., Lancashire, I., Hirst, G., and Jokel, R. (2011). Longitudinal detection of dementia through lexical and syntactic changes in writing: a case study of three British novelists. Literary and linguistic computing, 26(4), 435-461.
Lotfinia, S., Soorgi, Z., Mertens, Y., and Daniels, J. (2020). Structural and functional brain alterations in psychiatric patients with dissociative experiences: A systematic review of magnetic resonance imaging studies. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 128, 5-15.
McNally, R. J. (2005). Debunking myths about trauma and memory. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50(13), 817-822.
Morgan, J (2017) Agatha Christie, a Biography. Harper Collins.
Owens, C (1996) The Lost Days of Agatha Christie. Cottage Press.
Pope, H. G., Poliakoff, M. B., Parker, M. P., Boynes, M., and Hudson, J. I. (2007). Is dissociative amnesia a culture-bound syndrome? Findings from a survey of historical literature. Psychological medicine, 37(2), 225-233.
Pujol, M., and Kopelman, M. D. (2003). Psychogenic amnesia. Practical Neurology, 3(5), 292-299.
Staniloiu, A., and Markowitsch, H. J. (2014). Dissociative amnesia. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(3), 226-241.
de Vito, S., and Della Sala, S. (2017). Was Agatha Christie’s Mysterious Amnesia Real or Revenge on Her Cheating Spouse? Scientific American Mind, 28(6), 30-34.
Copyright Disclaimer
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible.
Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.
Images
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Other images and video samples Fair Use
Music
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet in G minor Op.25. Roxana Pavel Goldstein (violin),
Elias Goldstein (viola), Stephen Balderston (cello), and Mathew Ganong (piano).
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Edward Elgar: Salut d’amor: Emanuel Salvador (violin) and Pau Casan (piano)
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 via IMSLP.
Jules Massenet - Méditation from Thaïs performed by Bomsori Kim and Pallavi Mahidhara. CC3.0 via Wikimedia commons.
Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals. Aquarium. Pianos: Neil and Nancy
O'Doan, Seattle Youth Symphony, conducted by Vilem Sokol. Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Jacques Offenbach: Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld. CC 1.0 Universal Public
Domain Dedication via Wikimedia commons.
Psycho by BaDoink CC0 via Freesound
Video produced by Graeme Yorston and Gabriel Isles

[@ok-kb7yz]

why aren’t you promoting your videos ?……these videos are brilliant masterpieces that i discovered so late. this channel is so underrated , it deserves millions of subscribers by now for what you’re providing.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I agree! I have been concentrating on creating content.

[@davidpyott3710]

You should be employed by the BBC and do documentaries on BBC 4. Very high quality stuff. Thanks I ve watched all of it already. I m withdrawal symptoms. Lol

[@claudiabothma]

Agreed. I discovered the channel yesterday and am binge watching!

[@What_I_Think_Happened]

This is such a compassionate, kind video. I think that's exactly what Mrs. Christie needed at the time. Good for her for refusing to dwell on her bad time, and for giving Archie a divorce even though she didn't want it. I hope she was very happy in her second marriage. Thank you 💕

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, I try to approach these biographical videos as I would a new patient - finding out as much information as I can and then trying to understand what it must have felt like for them at that time.

[@es9340]

I think Mrs. Christie was so fed up with her husband after the quarrel that she simply needed time away to feel better. Not wanting to explain her absence further, she claimed she had lost memory. Since I would have probably have done the same in her position , this is my explanation, so no psychological disorder at all, just self-protection :-) or - as we would call it nowadays - she needed some "me-time".

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Yes, you could be right.

[@fizzao1342]

Thank you for your compassionate and thoughtful video. My grandfather knew the Mallowens very slightly as did my father. Max Mallowen said it was a tragedy that my grandfather hadn’t been able to have tertiary education and Mrs Mallowen encouraged my father to stay on at school.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks Fizza, it's lovely to hear about personal connections. It seems to me that younger generations take for granted the opportunities for education which were not always available in the past. My father had to turn down a place at the Royal Academy of Music in order to contribute to the family income!

[@katherineozbirn6426]

Prof. Kate here: Christie had a dark night of the soul--or more fun, a dark tea-time of the soul. Newton had a similar event in his life. He was trying very hard to conquer alchemy and performed many of the alchemists' procedures. But he finally understood that he was not discovering or uncovering any secret short-cuts to the reality of substances. He secluded himself in his room in total darkness for many days. The smartest man of his century had to come to terms with his limitations and the way the universe really worked. He emerged a man of science, leaving behind the wishful thinking and hubris of alchemy. Christie had to leave behind her mother, her best friend (whom she thought her husband was, I'm sure), and all the hopes and dreams of what she wanted to create. She wasn't the center of value anymore. Time for a tea break and throw in some dancing. For a dream to die and see it buried is a hard thing, especially when you are the god of that dream.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks Prof.

[@mariemorgan7759]

I heard about this story ,but never an explanation as to why she disappeared like that! Thank you!🙏

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@trishgreen2892]

Oh thank you for doing this review on Agatha's life! I'm going to post it to some of the Facebook fan groups I'm in. I'm sure everyone will appreciate it! I've been a fan of her mysteries since I was a teenager.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Please do! She had a unique talent.

[@mimig6511]

what a lovely video so respectful. Graeme you are a wonderful presenter and researcher. Thank you

[@professorgraemeyorston]

My pleasure!

[@CrustyUgg]

This is the best channel on KZbin!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Wow! Thank you for that.

[@caroleminke6116]

I believe her story that after the attempted suicide in her car had failed because of the obstacles she simply checked out of her harsh reality & sought restoration in the hotel. The alias was a strange combination of her own imagination as well as her loss of her husband to another woman & her mother, too. I think it took great courage to travel that far north & seek shelter in a very healthy atmosphere. She later repeated this escape when she went to the digs in Turkey & there met her future husband of 46 years… she passed away 50 years after this episode & 11 days of reactive dissociation wasn’t even worth noting in her true autobiography

[@violetab3750]

I think she just wanted to escape from her life’s problems at the time.

[@seethevolcane-qj8ys]

She had a "breakdown." Excellent vlog, thanks.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@dshe8637]

Having to clear a house after the death of a parent is a horrible, brutally sad task that takes you through absolute hell.

[@tiggerjones1323]

Thank you once again for an informative video

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks Tigger.

[@mrsbluesky8415]

I agree with your thoughts. She was very upset, depressed, and might’ve even thought of doing away with herself (the car in neutral) momentarily but when that didn’t work out she just wanted to be alone. I’ve loved her books since I was about 10 and think I’ve read them all. Good for her finding a younger man too !

[@kimberlyholt2241]

I absolutely love her series! 🥰

[@mousemd]

I don't know much about Agatha. Thank You for the info. I didn't realize that she lived so recently. I was actually born before she passed. Wow! No wonder she was so popular when I was growing up

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks for listening

[@karenax254]

It sounds like Agatha Christie was overwhelmed by the events around her, so could her brain have shut down to these harsh realities to protect her from going hysterical or severely depressed? The days away from the stress did her good and she returned more in balance. Just my amateur opinion 😊

[@ElkoJohn]

Excellent presentation and music. Thank you.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@elysianfields8461]

Quite enjoyable video. Thank you!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@user-ep3ed5jd7q]

Wow! Loved this!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@voyaristika5673]

It seems Archie's news was shocking and I wonder if she truly believed he wouldn't care if she took off for a few weeks. Or maybe she was so rattled and shocked by the rejection that she simply wasn't able to see just how irrational she was. She knew she was not rational but didn't believe she was THAT irrational. Then after letting off steam she was embarrassed when she "regained her senses." I never felt she was being vindictive or deliberately cruel. I felt badly for her.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I agree, I don't think she was vindictive, she wasn't thinking very much at all for those 11 days.

[@moniclare4214]

If she had had a shock which led to PTSD the shock could have closed down most of her brain . 11 days for her to gain enough of her thinking patterns to reach out. I believe her husband was a serial adulterer. The shock may have been a combination of the death of her mother and the betrayal in her marriage. It's more than possible the shock did block part of her memory. It's a frightening scary set of feelings where life is a nightmare

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Memory is a complex brain function and it can be affected by many things including the loss of her mother and the realisation that her marriage was effectively over.

[@andersdottir1111]

I think Archie was a narcissist.

[@mikef.1000]

I think her running off was an impulsive reaction to her husband's infidelity, maybe designed to emotionally blackmail him into returning to her. After a couple of days away, the kerfuffle became hard to face, so she stayed out of sight -- which only made things worse, of course. That's my 2-bob's worth, anyway. No great plot on her part, but just a series of normal and unwise reactions to the unfolding circumstances.

[@breezymango4113]

I heard that there were times she would hold her heard and say something about confusion or not being able to concentrate (?).

[@moniclare4214]

According to various notes nancy neele christie died before her husband archive christie

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Nancy died in 1958, Archie in 1962 and Agatha in 1976.

[@ElkoJohn]

Losing one's long-standing personal identity due to various causes is puzzling to me. A person can be fully conscious, and act normally with an alien, personal identity, having lost the previous one. Would this imply that personal identity is some sort of brain wave activity that is vulnerable to disruption?

[@professorgraemeyorston]

She didn't lose her previous personal identity - it all came back - think of it as more of a temporary suspension - not so different to sleep.

[@PeriwinklePotter]

❤❤❤

[@robertthomson1587]

"She even sent a letter of condolence to Nancy when Archie died in the 1960s". I don't think so. Nancy died in 1958. Archie died in 1962.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Good point - I've got that bit wrong.

[@DaveSCameron]

I would not rank Aggie as a poet..

[@donnahdunthorn5207]

I think she just wanted to embarrass the hell out of her heel of a husband.

[@scooobydoo69]

U LOOK LIKE LURCH

[@breezymango4113]

She did crash her car into the bush, so that could have caused some Brain damage.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Yes, if she actually crashed it, but there was no damage, so it looks like she just abandoned it?

[@susanstein6604]

You can add to Agatha Christie’s list of dislikes: Jews. Harper Collins, her American publisher deleted questionable content from her novels.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

It is a difficult issue - is it right to edit out her comments or does her writing simply reflect the views of the characters she was writing about forming an important part of social history?

[@paulabarch5065]

Editing is rarely the right way to go- my opinion. As you point out, what the characters said or thought is a reflection of the time it waa written. (I paraphrased, I apologize). In this way fiction becomes social history and commentary-- valuable information- so I say leave it as written. We need to toughen up and. lose our hypersensitivity. It's a better thing to know facts than to pretty it all up to make the story and its words palatable to that general audience who doesnt want to think.

[@ghostmanscores1666]

She lied and wanted to worry people.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Not if she was in a dissociative state.

[@lebowskiduderino89]

Ha ha my God what an ego

[@geometria3]

😂David Suchet is the ultimate HP

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Agreed!