The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White

It's easy to see why Ethel Lina White's first novel The Wheel Spins was snapped up by Alfred Hitchcock as movie material.  It's a mixture of mystery and suspense which verges on horror as a young Englishwoman's very sanity is questioned.  The movie was called The Lady Vanishes and the novel later followed suit when it was reissued under the same title.  It has all the right elements to create a perfect suspense story--a speeding train crossing Europe filled with holidaymakers returning home, a woman who mysteriously disappears, and a lone witness whom none of the passengers believe.  What I liked most about the story is that it takes place almost entirely on a train, turning it into a locked room type of mystery, which is the perfect setting for this claustrophobic tale.

Iris Carr is a beautiful socialite with no fixed address who has been vacationing with a group of friends in an unnamed Eastern European country (mostly likely the Balkans).  It's a rather rowdy group which has managed to aggravate most of the rest of the proper English guests in one way or another.  Iris is cool, calm and collected and very prickly.  She has knack for rubbing people the wrong way, and not caring a jot that she's done so.  Just before boarding her train home to England she's struck with a violent pain and loses consciousness waking barely moments before her departure in a state of confusion and anxiousness.

The train, one of the last leaving the resort at the end of the season, is crammed with travelers, and Iris is stuck in a compartment with unfriendly natives who don't seem to speak or understand any English.  She finds an unlikely ally, however, in a middle aged woman of vague coloring wearing tweeds--Miss Winifred Froy.  Miss Froy is returning to England, too, after working as governess in the home of a high ranking family.  She may be a spinster, but she has a great sense of adventure.  Mild mannered and gregarious she can hold her own in any conversation and is comfortable speaking the language.  Despite Miss Froy's blandness Iris takes a liking to her even though she is a chatterbox.   She speaks with a deep affection for her elderly parents and her dear little dog named "Sock" (short for Socrates!) who she already envisions racing to the station to meet her.

Not quite recovered from her touch of sunstroke, Iris falls asleep and when she wakes Miss Froy is no longer in her seat.  As a matter of fact she's nowhere to be found on the train, and Iris has looked up and down the corridor and in all the compartments.  No one admits to seeing her and when Iris demands something be done, she's neither believed nor supported in her accusation of foul play.  As a matter of fact her fellow travelers believe she's something of a trouble maker since her bad behavior at the hotel did little to endear her to them.  As for the rest they think she's simply had too much sun and needs a nice rest. 

What makes this such a great read is White's plotting.  From the first page the reader anticipates something awful, as premonitions abound.  She sets the perfect tone, creating in Iris a character who is ultimately friendless and alone which makes her fruitless search so harrowing.  Even those few passengers who are 'on her side' are still not convinced that Miss Froy exists.  White gets into the heads of the other passengers, so the reader sees their secrets and motivations.  Most just want to get home, each having their own reason for not wanting the train to be held up en route.  The tension mounts as Iris becomes ever more distressed about Miss Froy, while the other passengers begin to lose their patience with Iris and her seemingly erratic behavior.

I love a good suspenseful novel, and I totally enjoyed this one.  White turns a satiric eye on travelers abroad and their foibles in a way that helps move this story along at a good clip.  Now that I've finished reading the book, I'm due for another viewing of the movie, which I recall enjoying though a few liberties were taken with the story.  The novel was published in 1936 and the film made in 1938 which has a slightly more political/espionage slant than the book had.

This is the first book I've finished for Carl's RIP Challenge.  I'm also working on Ruth Rendell's A Demon in My View, Nicci French's The Memory Game and I've just started Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.  I'm planning on reading Deborah Lawrenson's The Lantern as part of a group read as well.  I had hoped to read three books, so we'll see what I manage by the end of October.

Vipulat at Shades of Words also read The Lady Vanishes.  Check out her post here.

Comments

[Caroline]

Sounds tempting. I wonder why I don't have the movie. We have two large collections of Hitchcock DVDs. Strange. Maybe I didn't look properly.
I just started a new Nicci French, "Blue Monday". It's the first in a new series and their first attempt to write a series. 100 pages into the book and I'm not sure yet. I don't like dodgy psychlogical explanations and that seems where we are headed. The Memory Game was better.

[litlove]

I do so love crime novels from earlier in the 20th century. They really knew how to plot in those days and the language was always crisp and concise and evocative. I would love to read this one and must look out for it.

[Liz F]

I've seen the film and funnily enough it seems far less dated than something like The Birds where the special effects are definitely showing their age!
I definitely prefer Daphne du Maurier's story of The Birds and it sounds like I would probably prefer the book in this case too, so I will have to look out for it.

[jenclair]

The book and the film sound good! Our library doesn't have The Lantern yet. I've looked twice to no avail, but I'll keep looking or use inter-library loan.

[Stefanie]

I have the movie in the Netflix streaming queue. The book sounds great. I wonder if the movie does it justice?

[Kathy]

The book sounds great, and my library doesn't have it, so have got it on my Paperback Swap wish list. Library does have the movie, though I have to see a movie before I've read the book!

[Inkslinger]

Oooh ... this has been on my list of books I want to read for awhile (I want to read as much of Hitchcock's source material as I can get/take). But perhaps I should bump this one up to a higher place on the list and get started asap. Sounds fun!

[Darlene]

My husband loves books with just a handful of people in a house or a train so this would rate highly with him. I'm impressed that you're already one book into Carl's challenge!

[Danielle]

Caroline--I think this was his last "British" film and after he made this he came to Hollywood. My library has a couple of sets of his movies and I know this one is a straggler--it wasn't included in either set. Well worth looking for if you don't have it already. Too bad about the Nicci French novel--she seems to do standalone thrillers very well.
Litlove--Maybe that is why I am so drawn to books from this era. I love reading about the period, but I also love how they told stories as well! I very much enjoyed this and plan on looking for some of her other books.
Liz--Do you know I have never seen the movie The Birds all the way through? I have seen parts--from what I recall and from having read the story later--I also much prefer the story over the movie (sorry, Hitch--I love your movies otherwise!).
Jenclair--I'm so surprised your library doesn't have The Lantern--it seems like a very popular sort of book that any public library would have. Both the book and movie for The Lady Vanishes are very good--well worth tracking them both down.
Stefanie--It's been a while since I saw the movie, but I recall liking it. They give it a slightly different twist--there is more of an edge of your seat rush to the ending, but you still get the same great atmosphere. I meant to bring it home from the library but got so busy this afternoon I forgot! Maybe I should stream this weekend, too! ;)
Kathy--I saw the movie first and it didn't ruin it for me--the book's ending is slightly different in any case, but the fun/rather should say the suspense is in the search for Miss Froy--you'll have guessed where she is, but somehow that didn't seem to detract from the story.
Inkslinger--I like the sound of that project! I wonder how many books his movies actually come from? I'd love to read the book Frenzy came from--if it was from a book, so I must investigate. This one was fun and I'm glad I came across it and read it.
Darlene--I love books set on trains, too! Did your husband read Murder on the Orient Express? This one was a fast read, so don't be too impressed with me! :) I have three other books started and I'm wondering if I will actually finish them by the end of October!

[Readramble.wordpress.com]

The Hitchcock film was a fun one to watch with the children. Took my son to see Vanessa Redgrave onstage when we were in D.C., and the film gave him a chance to see her dad, Michael Redgrave, at work. - Fay

[Rebecca H.]

I really want to know what happened! This sounds really great, and the movie must be fun as well. I love the idea of a book that takes place mostly on a train.

[Danielle]

Fay--How cool to see Vanessa Redgrave on the stage! Michael Redgrave was quite handsome in that part, wasn't he? I really must watch the movie again now that I've read the book.
Rebecca--Yes, both are really good. I think I like just about anything directed by Hitchcock, but I love those sorts of stories in any case--he was just a master of making them. I had no idea there was originally a book (though I should know better now since so often movies are made from books). I think the reader (even w/out seeing the movie first), will figure out what happened to Miss Froy, but the fun is in the search--and the book ending was great--quite ironic really.

[Kathleen]

This sounds like just the kind of story that Hitchcok would have been attracted to. I will definitely be adding this to my list.

[Danielle]

Kathleen--Doesn't it sound like perfect Hitchcock material? I was thinking today as I am reading Ruth Rendell, how wonderful some of her books would have been in Hitch's hands--lots of psychological stories that he was so good at filming!

[Smithereens]

I definitely add this one on my wishlist, your post sold it to me!

[Vipula]

I just finished reading this and absolutely loved it. It is so creepy even if it has none of the typical gothic horror elements. And this could happen to anyone!!

[Danielle]

Smithereens--Yes, do! I think you might like this one. Very easy reading really, but I thought it was well done!
Vipula--I'm so glad you liked it, too. It is one of those stories that is scary for that fact that it's not all that outrageous--imagine wondering if you really saw something but everyone denying it. Very cleverly plotted. Have you seen the movie, too? I have it checked out from the library to watch again.

[Vipula]

Yes I have seen the movie and I liked it over other two best selling Hitchcock movies - 39 steps and Spellbound. Btw I just started reading The House of Dr. Edwardes on which Spellbound was based - its again a psychological thriller..and perfect for this fall weather

[Danielle]

Vipula--I have seen mostly Hitchcock's later movies from the 50s and 60s--he's wonderful. I should really watch the 39 Steps as I think I'd like it, but The Lady Vanishes does have a certain charm and atmosphere to it! I didn't realize that he based so many of his movies on books--thanks for mentioning it--I'll see if I can find a copy of The House of Dr Edwardes, too. This sort of book is especially good in autumn, but I seem to read them year 'round!