Alex Csurko joins us to discuss The Wheel Spins (The Lady Vanishes) by Welsh-born interwar writer Ethel Lina White.
He is writing his PhD thesis on White, whom he first discovered during his undergraduate studies on Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock made the film The Lady Vanishes based on The Wheel Spins.
Alex is recognized as an up-and-coming authority on White after his interview with BBC Wales Online, published in December 2021, discussing the author’s life and work.
Learn more about Alex Csurko and The Lady Vanishes below!
Alex Csurko is one of the world’s foremost experts on the works of Ethel Lina White, including The Wheel Spins (The Lady Vanishes). In 2023, he contributed an extensive biography on Ethel Lina White for the Gwent Local History Journal.
Most recently, he collaborated with Tony Medawar on the short-story collection Blackout and Other Stories, to be published by Crippen and Landru in 2025.
As a Member of the Magic Circle, Alex also regularly contributes theoretical essays on the craft of Magic for the Society’s prestigious international magazine.
Questions for Alex Csurko about The Wheel Spins (The Lady Vanishes) and Ethel Lina White
In THE WHEEL SPINS (1936), a young woman’s train journey takes a sinister turn when a fellow passenger mysteriously disappears. This suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat novel by Ethel Lina White served as the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic film The Lady Vanishes.
Though lesser known than many of its contemporaries, the book is a stunner and a classic of the genre.
Tell us what you think, and we may share your thoughts in our next episode and send you a fabulous sticker! (It really is a pretty awesome sticker.)
Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a book club and podcast for people who love mysteries, thrillers, introspection, and good conversation. Each month, your hosts, Sarah Harrison and Carolyn Daughters, will discuss a game-changing mystery or thriller from the 19th and 20th centuries. Together, we’ll see firsthand how the genre evolved.
Along the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theories, doubts, and grudges, along with the occasional guest. And we hope to entertain you, dear friend. We want you to experience the joys of reading some of the best mysteries and thrillers ever written.
Teasers & Tidbits
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