A review of The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White – a new e-book version is coming soon

A gaslighting masterpiece from before gaslighting was even a thing…

When I got the chance for a review copy of The Lady Vanishes, by Ethel Lina White, I was not quite sure I really wanted to read it.   I’m not that much of a movie person, and not much of a psychological suspense/thriller person either.   And I knew that this mystery – in its original incarnation, The Wheel Spins – was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1938 film, The Lady Vanishes.  So I suspected it would rate high on both the psychological suspense and thriller scales.   And it does, but I still loved it.

My first indications that I would like The Lady Vanishes came within the first couple of chapters, prompted by White’s sharp writing and apt observations.    After the protagonist, Iris, marvels at the view while hiking in the mountains, but simultaneously thinks to herself that “when one travelled off the map, the landscape improved automatically as the standard of sanitation lapsed”, I thought I might like the book.   And a few pages later, Iris further notes that “[t]he mountain which had challenged her kept withdrawing as she advanced, so she had to give up her intention to reach the top”.  Having been in that same circumstance myself a time or two, at that point, I was all in.

Of course, a compelling mystery requires more than some fine snark, and White delivers on the plot and characters as well.  As you might deduce from the current title, someone vanishes, and it’s an English governess who goes missing, seemingly impossibly, on a train from “a remote corner of Europe” to Trieste, on the Adriatic coast.    Iris had befriended Miss Froy, and tries to raise an alarm when she disappears.   But in a textbook primer of gaslighting (not that it was called that then), no one else on the train will admit that Miss Froy ever existed.  And when Iris persists, some of the other passengers put a lot of effort into making her think she is crazy, suggesting, among other things, that she might need a stay in a nursing home – from which she fears she might never escape.

I’m not usually up for spending a lot of time inside people’s heads, but White does an amazing job of it, and we can feel Iris’ uncertainty and panic ebbing and flowing throughout the book, enhanced by her concern for Miss Froy’s elderly parents and faithful dog, who are expecting her home in a few days.  In the end, aided by a rather attractive young man, Max Hare, Iris realizes what must have happened, and matters come to a satisfactory close.   But it’s a near thing…

The Lady Vanishes/The Wheel Spins was written in 1936, and sometimes books don’t weather the decades well.   And there are a few moments when the self-assured superiority of English travelers between the wars is a bit much to take.   But by and large, White’s writing is so solidly grounded in timeless human behaviors and emotions (self-doubt, unwillingness to cause a fuss, jealousy, and even just pure evil) that it passes the test of time with flying colors.   And I highly recommend this book for everyone – even folks like me, who think they won’t like it!

And finally, my thanks to the publishers of the new e-edition, Pushkin Vertigo, and to Edelweiss for my advance review copy.  Oh yeah, and I also love the new cover!

Buy (pre-order now, available Sept 3): Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Kobo US | Kobo UK | Kobo Canada

1 thought on “A review of The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White – a new e-book version is coming soon”

  1. I just noticed, while doing all the links to retailers, that this edition is already out in the UK, where it is also on sale for £1.99, and discountable at Kobo UK. And the links in the OP just above are still good!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top