Harrogate’s connection with crime fiction dates back to the 1920s, when the town was at the centre of a real life mystery – the disappearance of Agatha Christie, one of the most renowned and beloved crime writers of all time.

In December 1926, when Christie’s car was discovered abandoned at Newlands Corner, a beauty spot near Guildford, the story gripped the nation as much as one of her fictional mysteries. It sparked the biggest national manhunt the country had known, with over a thousand policemen assigned to the case. Two of Britain’s most famous crime writers - Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L. Sayers - were drawn into the search. Conan Doyle, who was interested in the occult, even went as far as taking a discarded glove of Christie’s to a medium.

The case dominated headlines until, after 11 days, Christie was found in Harrogate at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel (now The Old Swan) where she was staying under an assumed name. There was much speculation as to what caused the famous writer's disappearance; theories ranged from her having suffered a nervous breakdown, following a recent revelation of her husband’s affair, to the belief that it was purely a publicity stunt – Agatha Christie herself never gave an explanation for the mystery of the missing days…

Harrogate often featured in Agatha Christie's works, and her association has had a lasting impact on the town's literary heritage. The annual Harrogate Crime Writing Festival attracts famous authors and fans from around the world, and pays tribute to Agatha Christie's legacy and influence on crime fiction.