The Allure of the Blue Train

Hello! How are you? I realise, you probably aren't as excited as I am to be here, but when I return to my Agatha Bellsy persona after a brief interval, I discover I've missed her. In turn, that means I've missed all of you, or more accurately the space where you exist in my imagination; eager and keen to converse with all things Agatha... Christie, that is, not Bellsy. She's no where near as interesting.

Anyway, this week, I've been on somewhat of an adventure—reading wise. I had a lovely leisurely Sunday, the kind of day I'd been longing for, where I spent nearly all of it reading! I know, it was bliss. Oh, and don't worry, I did get off the couch and go for a run, and through the miracle of audio, I was able to keep reading then too. Well... not reading I suppose... or is it?

Rather than dealing deeper into that discussion, I thought I might tell you about the books I read. I'm afraid I have a terrible habit of having at least four on the go at the one time. This means it takes me longer than usual to finish them, and in all honesty, sometimes I've forgotten the beginning by the time I return to the middle. However, when a book is really enjoyable, I find this far less of a problem; and that happened with The Family Shadow, by Suzanne Winterly.

(Embarrassingly, I spelt shadow, as shaddow, when I mentioned it in a post. Dreadful, I know!)

The Family Shadow is a dual timeline mystery who-dun-it. It has all the things I love—historical details, beautiful countryside, a compelling mystery and even a touch of sweet romance. I also loved the writing. It was easy to read, like an Agatha Christie, which is not to say it would have been easy to write. In my humble opinion, when something is easy to read, that means the writer has worked very hard to make it so, or else, they are just very clever.

Now, I hear you wondering how blue trains come in to all of this. Don't worry, the path of logic is there, as Poirot would say to Mrs Oliver when she is diverting from meringues to elephants (the meringue got caught in her teeth, made of ivory, leading her to elephants—in case you are wondering). In this instance, the subject matter drew me towards indigo coach-lines . You see, The Family Shadow is about race horses and both the female protagonists have husbands who gamble, and one also has an affair.

Huh? I hear you say. Don't worry, it's coming.

Firstly, the husbands led me to contemplate the life of Agatha Christie and her marriage to Archie. He had an affair, but just before Agatha found out she noticed 'our bank account seemed to be melting in a most extraordinary way.' Then, poor Agatha suffered terribly from the loss of her mother. To add insult to further injury, Archie informed her that her unhappiness 'spoiled everything for him' consequently driving him into the arms of his female golf partner/secretary. Yep, it was Agatha's fault.

In the end they divorced, and she was left with hardly any money or income and a daughter to support. That was then she decided to follow the path of the 'amateur-professional' writer, rather than 'the married woman' she had seen herself as previously. It was at this time, she wrote her sixth Poirot book, whilst trying to care for Rosalind and finding it very difficult to find inspiration—not surprisingly after all that!

In then end, the book that surfaced was called The Mystery of the Blue Train. (Yes, it was a windy road, but we got there.)

I must say, The Blue Train was always one of my favourite BBC episodes. It is set in the south of France, in Nice with beautiful scenes of the Rivera and I've watched it numerous times. However, I discovered it was a book, Agatha always hated.

I know! It shocked me too! Therefore, I thought I'd better read it. After all, how could I be so wrong?

I'm not all that far in, so I'll save some comparisons with my treasured BBC version for a later date, but I did wonder if Agatha's real life had somehow made it's way into the story. That's a horrible thing to say, I know. As an aspiring fiction writer myself, I try desperately hard to steer clear of anything personal, yet I'm sure snippets inevitably creep in.

Anyway, in The Mystery of the Blue Train, American millionaire—Rufus Van Aldin— purchases the Heart of Fire, a precious ruby with a sinister past for his beloved daughter Ruth. She is hinged to a man who married her for her money (and loses it all gambling in the television series). It's a situation her father intends to rectify.

'It's a hard thing Knighton,' he says to his valet, 'how little one can do for those one loves. I can buy a good portion of the earth for Ruth, if would be any use to her, but it isn't. I can hang this thing around her neck and give her a moment of two's pleasure, maybe, but... when a woman is not happy in her home—'

Agatha was unhappy in her home. So unhappy, she disappeared for eleven days! Considering what Agatha went on to achieve, reading about this made me find her even more inspiring. Remember, she'd already nursed during WW1, and been informed her first novel was no good on numerous occasions. The path to becoming the Queen of Mystery had not been easy!

My life, like that of many others, is in a slight trough at the moment. As I approach what I hope is my middle-age, I'm comparing it to the murky middle of a manuscript—the no man's land, where one potentially wonders aimlessly into dangerous territory. However, there is always light on the other side, and if Agatha can turn her life around with her writing, perhaps I can too?

At least, I can try... and you never know, I might make it to the French Riviera!