** “It just shows how careful one should be when one is abroad. We always keep to our rule never to get mixed up in other people’s business.” **

Pushkin Press is re-releasing Ethel Lina White’s 1936 “The Lady Vanishes,” once made famous by Alfred Hitchcock’s cinematic version.

After vacationing in the mountains of Europe, socialite Iris Carr finds herself returning home on the train. Placed in a car with six others, she quickly builds a bond with governess Winifred Froy, the only fellow Englishman in the car. But after taking tea together and a quick nap, Iris wakes to find Miss Froy gone … and everyone acting as if she never existed.

Iris quickly works to figure out why she remembers the governess and no one else does. Attempting to find help from her fellow mountain vacationers also on the train, can she prove she is not crazy and that Miss Froy really did exist? Or is she truly losing her mind?

“The Lady Vanishes” is a classic mystery with a similar format to a locked-room mystery. It definitely holds up to the test of time, having been written almost 90 years ago. Although the writing is a little more formal at times than contemporary writing, it is still an easy and enjoyable read, keeping readers guessing until the very end.

Ethel Lina White was a well-known crime writer in the 1930s and ’40s, comparable to Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Obviously fans of such authors and Hitchcock’s classic film will enjoy “The Lady Vanishes.”

Pushkin Press’ version of the novel, originally published as “The Wheel Spins,” is due out Sept. 3.

Five stars out of five.

Pushkin Press provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

I have watched both the Hitchcock and the more modern version of The Lady Vanishes so I went into this interested to see how the story aligned with what I already knew of it. I was pleasantly surprised by how modern and funny the book felt. Iris is a wonderful flapper-esque heroine and it's a perfect novel for any Agatha Christie fans that want women to have a little more agency in the stories. The narrative zips along with the train and the deftness of mystery combined with the humour make this a very fun read.

For someone who loved the Alfred Hitchcock movie so much, I'm embarrassed to say that I did not know it was based a book. I'm told that Ethel Lina White was a big name along side of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. I was very excited to be given the chance to read the book thanks to Netflix and the publisher. Halfway through, I wanted to find the movie which I did and watched. I think the book is better. The movie doesn't stick to the characters as written and especially changes Iris' nature.
The book is tense, well-written, and compelling. I enjoyed every word of it. So if you are a fan of the movie The Lady Vanishes, I urge you to read the book. It's a real thriller!!!!

The Lady Vanishes is a repackaging and retitling of Ethel Lina White's nest-remembered novel The Wheel Spins. Made famous, of course, by Hitchcock's film adaptation, it deserves the general recognition that has come to it. Iris Carr is a heroine it is hard to like as the novel begins. She is on holiday somewhere (unnamed) in eastern Europe with a gaggle of amoral hangers-on who have alienated the other hotel guests with their bad behaviour. Jaded by her time as the financer of the group, she stays on for a few days after the rest leave. She stays aloof from her fellow guests and thus, when they all board the same train en route for England, she has no support or companion. What follows is a nightmarish descent into frantic despair as she tries to convince someone - anyone - that a Miss Froy is missing...

A classic book reissued. This is the first time I've read this book but have seen the movie. Although written almost a hundred years ago it stands the test of time, gripping and hooks you from the start. Thanks to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for this review copy.

A Dazzling Mystery..
A classic of suspense, reissued. A glamorous socialite, an unexpected meeting and a baffling disappearance on a train prompt a dazzling mystery. Impossibly atmospheric and with an eclectic and carefully crafted cast of characters populating the tension fuelled plot. A solid reissue which stands the test of time.

I read this book because the movie “The Lady Vanishes” was based on it. I thought the book kind of dragged and had lots of unnecessary descriptions and explanations.

This was a fun, quick read, especially if you’re a fan of Golden Age era detective fiction! More psychological thriller than a whodunnit, the book captures well the stifling atmosphere of being trapped on a train and not knowing who you can trust. The twists and turns weren’t groundbreaking, which isn’t surprising considering this was written in the 30s, but I still enjoyed the ride. Looking forward to watching the Hitchcock film this is based on!

Iris is a young English woman on holiday in Eastern Europe returning home by train first to Trieste. An older Englishwoman, Miss Froy befriends her on the journey and after tea together, Iris sleeps. When she awakes Miss Froy is missing and everyone around her denies she ever existed. It’s a simple plot and the answer is probably obvious but it was such a fun read. The pacing is a bit slow to start with, once it gets going it’s hard to stop reading. An excellent classic mystery.

I love seeing older titles get their time in the sun again and with The Lady Vanishes we are getting a lovingly republished Golden Age classic mystery that's probably better known for it's 1938 Alfred Hitchcock screen adaptation.

It was first published as The Wheel Spins in 1936 and tells the story of glamorous socialite Iris Carr who is looking forward to returning home after a summer jaunt to a remote location in Europe. Having remained longer than her friends she finds herself journeying home alone but on the train to Trieste, she is pleased to meet the kindly governess, Miss Froy. They strike up a conversation and Iris warms to her new companion but after taking a nap she is shocked to discover that Miss Froy has disappeared without a trace and none of the other passengers on the train will admit to having ever seen such a woman.

Doubting her sanity and fearing for her life, Iris is determined to find Miss Froy before the train journey is over. Only one of her fellow passengers seems to believe her story and with his help, Iris begins to search the train for clues to the mystery of the vanished lady.

This story has been on my list to read for years especially as it has been highlighted as a masterclass in gaslighting and suspense, with a synopsis like that you can't help but be intrigued! Sadly I found myself skim reading a lot of it as the character of Iris was insufferable and unfortunately I found the whole thing tiresome and repetitive.

There are some interesting coded comments about society at that time (building up to WW2) peppered throughout the book which added some interest but not enough to overcome my issues with the main character. There is also a lot of barely hidden xenophobia and old fashioned jingoistic views of England and the English which didn't sit right with me and very clearly made it stand out as being 'a book of its time'. Whilst that's a fair point, Agatha Christie's books after all haven't held up well in many areas and are still considered classics, for me it didn't make for an interesting reading experience, especially combined with the other issues I had with the thinness of the plot and poor characterisations.

2*

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press | Pushkin Vertigo for an eArc of "The Lady Vanishes" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

I have seen quite a few different movie versions of this story including one of my favorites, Flightplan. And now I finally got to read the inspiration behind the story!

I'm not really a classics fan, but every once in awhile I find a gem. If your a fan of Agatha Christie and Whodunnit stories, then pick up this book. An interesting story of a young woman on vacation who claims a woman has Vanished on the train. But there is no trace of her and no one believes her.

I really enjoyed the characters and the mystery and for a classic it was actually quite easy to understand as well and I think would be a great story for people who are new to classics.

*thank you to #netgalley for a copy of this new edition of a classic to read and review. All thoughts are my own.

This was a solid thriller novel, full of mystery and suspense. The author creates a story that starts out as a “is she crazy?”, to “where is the protagonist’s (Iris) companion?”, to “whodunit?”, to “will the crime get solved in time?”. The tension stayed high throughout the book and has you rooting for Iris not to give up. White throws as many obstacles as she can at Iris, while leaving the reader piecing together clues along the journey. The intrigue and twists is very Hitchcockeque, which is probably why he chose to turn it into a movie.

Denial, closed spaces, shifty characters, and simmering danger create the right atmosphere for this thriller. It will grip you all the way through.

''So you saw Miss Froy no more...She is nothing but a delirium - a dream,''

A young British socialite, frustrated, disillusioned and fed up with the pretentiousness of her noisy friends and the life she has been leading, decides to end her holidays in an unnamed (and probably fictional) country somewhere in Central Europe and return to England. Surrounded by fellow travellers who are hollower than the hollowest kind of void, she finds herself in the company of the dull, yet sympathetic, Miss Froy. When Miss Froy simply vanishes into thin air, Iris does everything in her power to find her while her efforts are hindered and blocked by suspicious strangers and men who simply dismiss her as a ''hysterical woman''. Little do they know...

Ethel Lina White created one of the most famous mystery books (and it is a pity that it became so well-known thanks to a lousy adaptation by the greatest fraud in the History of Cinema., Alfred ''I will bore you to Death with my nonsense'' Hitchcock). Iris is a character who tells it like it is and I loved her immensely. Her determination to proceed and stay true to herself while every male character tries to coax her into submission and docility is outstanding. The claustrophobic setting of the train that never stops mirrors Iris's non-stop mind and strength. Even Hare, who is dashing and enticing, is a male figure whose motives remained unclear - at least to me- even at the end of the novel. The dialogue is surprisingly lively and modern (a characteristic of the works of women writers during the 30s) and the constant comings and goings make you feel as if you are a passenger on a train that will keep travelling until Judgement Day.

No need for more. This is one of the finest examples of the genre, a quintessentially British mystery.

*Do yourselves a favour. Ditch the Hitchcock atrocity and watch the 2013 adaptation by BBC One. Thank me later.

Many thanks to Pushkin Vertigo and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/

Gaslighting, kidnap, drugging… a train journey you won’t forget.

Set in the latter half of of the 1930’s, Iris is separated from her friends and undertakes a train journey fraught with danger before she’s even on the train. Once aboard the train, she meets governess Miss Froy, only for her to dissappear.

The writing is brilliantly vivid from the outset, with depictions of the last day of Iris’s holiday contrasted with the atmosphere of impending danger.

The novel keeps you on a knife edge, with both psychological and physical terror. Iris is gaslit by the men surrounding her on the train (a doctor included) to the point of questioning her own sanity. That awful 19th century term hysteria is applied to Iris as a way to silence her.

I’ve seen three film adaptations, but you don’t get to hear the voices the way you do in the novel. The frightened Mrs Froy and the emotive chapters from home add to her plight.

There is also the hypocritical attitude of the other passengers towards Iris. The Misses Flood-Porter for example , believe themselves keeping up English standards while being among the accomplices in their unwillingness to help Iris. The passengers in general are a self-centred lot in their denial of Miss Froy’s existence.

I really disliked the attitude of Max. In some of the films, he is a much more likeable character. It was another unsettling aspect to the novel and also that Iris had decided to go off with him at the end, especially after what he did.

The book was written in the 1930s, not long before World War Two. It shows the tensions between the old and new England. The sisters are part of the dying old English world.

A disturbing thriller that will keep you thinking about its themes long after the book has ended.

If you pick up this tome and have watched Hitchcock's film, you will no doubt find yourself making comparisons. This tome is a slow build with a plot line slightly different to the one Hitchcock presents.

Like most tomes of the period, there is usually a secondary narrative or social commentary or political propaganda. Many early 20th century books embraced modernist techniques, such as stream-of-consciousness narration, nonlinear storytelling, and fragmented narratives; and focused on character to unravel the intricate web of an individual's thoughts and feelings . This is no exception.

Still, read it for the enjoyment of this being a classic mystery.

It is a mystery that keeps you guessing, with a good dose of humor to keep you entertained. It started slowly, but the story picked up the pace once they got on the train. This classic psychological mystery was engaging and had a good balance of humor that I thoroughly enjoyed. When I was done, I made the mistake of watching Hitchcock’s adaptation; the changes to the plot and characters did not improve anything. On the contrary, I found it hard to enjoy and couldn’t finish it.

I'm not very fond of this period, but this convinced me to read more of this Author's work; the writing was easy to follow, and the clues were enough to keep me hooked..

This was a classic mystery story. Primarily set on an international train, the disappearance of an English woman sets our protagonist on a confusing adventure. A product of its time, the story is now oft repeated, but I appreciate that when first released it would have sent shockwaves through the mystery genre.

Un giallo classico di tanto in tanto è un toccasana, e The Lady Vanishes è un delizioso meccanismo a orologeria: niente viene lasciato al caso, e se non ho provato troppa simpatia per Iris, l'ho trovata credibile e attorniata da personaggi che, nelle loro piccole storie di contorno, lo erano altrettanto, spesso rappresentanti di un'epoca e di una classe sociale ben definite e ormai perse.
Un ottimo recupero, e un'ottima alternativa a una rilettura di Dame Agatha.

The book is mesmerising and really intrigued me. The language used is easy to follow and understand, making the reading an easy process for me.

Definitely will recommend to others.

I recently read The Lady Vanishes, provided as an eARC by Net Galley. This book was first published as The Wheel Spins in 1936 and it was also made into a movie by the Great Alfred Hitchcock in the 1930s

The story centres on young l, glamorous Iris Carr who meets Miss Froy, a governess returning home on their train to Trieste. Miss Froy disappears but no one on the train recalls her presence other than Iris Carr and no one will believe Miss Froy even exists.

A fabulous classic crime mystery written in the golden era of mystery writers. As a lover of Agatha Christie and writers similar to her, this was on my list. I've seen this movie so many times over the year and was excited to read this new edition

A fabulous number of interesting and mysterious characters and clever, witty dialogue, this is a great read which held my interest throughout despite knowing the plot!