elegant accents - agatha christie’s english riviera

On the south coast of Devon, in that part of Britain knownas the English Riviera, stands the picturesque town ofTorquay, a stylish resort with a bustling waterfront and a

scenic palm-lined promenade. Human history here goes backhalf a million years, as evidenced by the startling discoveries ofprehistoric tools and other remains found in Kent’s Cavern. Andthough records of settled human occupation date back to the11th century, Torquay didn’t become a winter health resort foranother 800 years.

Princess Victoria (who later became Queen Victoria) visitedTorquay in 1890, enhancing the town’s reputation as a superiorresort. Four years after her visit, the Princess Gardens, which stillface Torquay harbor, were built on reclaimed land, as was thePavilion, which opened in 1912 and served as an elegant theaterand concert hall. More celebrated visitors followed Victoria,including the Russian Romanov family, which built a holiday

home called Villa Syracusa, now the Overmead Hotel; the Princeof Wales; Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, wife of novelist LeoTolstoy; Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Rudyard Kipling; Sir ArthurConan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes stories; andCharles Darwin, who finished The Origin of the Species whilestaying in Torquay.

But one celebrity, more than any other, is identified with thetown: Agatha Christie, the most published novelist in the world,with two billion books in 50 languages in print. Online gamesbased on her mysteries have had 30 million downloads. Thoughshe was named a Dame of the British Empire in 1971, Christie isperhaps best known as the Queen of Crime, creator of the iconicdetectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.

ELEGANT ACCENTS FALL 2010 XX ELEGANT ACCENTS FALL 2010

The Agatha Christie bust, which was unveiled in September 1990 by the writer’s daughter, RosalindHicks, to commemorate the centenary of her mother’s birth.

Miss Marple (the late Joan Hickson) and Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) meet at the Torquay Railway Station, as part of the Agatha Christie CentenaryCelebrations in 1990. Christie never allowed the characters to meet in her books.

Agatha Christie’s English RivieraThere’s no mystery about the appeal of Torquay, the waterfront resort that was the

birthplace of the world’s most published novelistBy Lillian Africano

EnglishRiviera_Template 11/9/10 11:33 AM Page 2

On the south coast of Devon, in that part of Britain knownas the English Riviera, stands the picturesque town ofTorquay, a stylish resort with a bustling waterfront and a

scenic palm-lined promenade. Human history here goes backhalf a million years, as evidenced by the startling discoveries ofprehistoric tools and other remains found in Kent’s Cavern. Andthough records of settled human occupation date back to the11th century, Torquay didn’t become a winter health resort foranother 800 years.

Princess Victoria (who later became Queen Victoria) visitedTorquay in 1890, enhancing the town’s reputation as a superiorresort. Four years after her visit, the Princess Gardens, which stillface Torquay harbor, were built on reclaimed land, as was thePavilion, which opened in 1912 and served as an elegant theaterand concert hall. More celebrated visitors followed Victoria,including the Russian Romanov family, which built a holiday

home called Villa Syracusa, now the Overmead Hotel; the Princeof Wales; Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, wife of novelist LeoTolstoy; Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Rudyard Kipling; Sir ArthurConan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes stories; andCharles Darwin, who finished The Origin of the Species whilestaying in Torquay.

But one celebrity, more than any other, is identified with thetown: Agatha Christie, the most published novelist in the world,with two billion books in 50 languages in print. Online gamesbased on her mysteries have had 30 million downloads. Thoughshe was named a Dame of the British Empire in 1971, Christie isperhaps best known as the Queen of Crime, creator of the iconicdetectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.

ELEGANT ACCENTS FALL 2010 XX ELEGANT ACCENTS FALL 2010

The Agatha Christie bust, which was unveiled in September 1990 by the writer’s daughter, RosalindHicks, to commemorate the centenary of her mother’s birth.

Miss Marple (the late Joan Hickson) and Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) meet at the Torquay Railway Station, as part of the Agatha Christie CentenaryCelebrations in 1990. Christie never allowed the characters to meet in her books.

Agatha Christie’s English RivieraThere’s no mystery about the appeal of Torquay, the waterfront resort that was the

birthplace of the world’s most published novelistBy Lillian Africano

EnglishRiviera_Template 11/9/10 11:33 AM

is part of the Barcelo hotel group and offers fall/winter pricing aslow as £59, or approximately $93 US for a double room.

During the war, Agatha worked as a nurse at Torquay TownHall, which served as a Red Cross hospital. When she transferred

to the Dispensary, she studied with Torquay’s leading pharmacist—and learned all about the poisons that were to become her preferred murder method.

ELEGANT ACCENTS FALL 2010 X

Dame Agatha was born in Torquay on September 15, 1890.Every year, in mid-September, the town commemorates her birth-day. This past September, I joined the legions of fans who convergedon Torquay to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Christie’s birth ina weeklong festival of murder, mayhem, and mischief. The celebra-tion included some 40 events, among them appearances by JuliaMcKenzie, the new Miss Marple featured in the BBC films; aHercule Poirot lookalike; and Christie’s grandson, MathewPritchard. The schedule also included an old-fashioned English fetewith period costumes, a production of Witness for the Prosecution,and a grand birthday party with fireworks.

Dame Agatha was an intrepid traveler and explorer who visited Egypt and the Middle East and met her second husband,Max Mallowan, while she was viewing an excavation. In her imag-ination, she saw crime everywhere she went. The result: Murder inMesopotamia, They Came to Baghdad, and Death on the Nile.Christie rode the famous Venice-Simplon Express to Istanbul and,like all upper-class Britons of the time, stopped at the Pera Palace.She may even have written Murder on the Orient Express there.(Her room, 411, is now called the Agatha Christie Room.)

But it was the people and places of her own hometown ofTorquay, in the idyllic rural county of Devon, that really firedChristie's murderous imagination, resulting in no fewer than 15mysteries, some set in her own gracious Georgian home,

Greenway. Like other Christie devotees, I was eager to visit thelandmarks of Dame Agatha’s life—and the murder settings in herstories. The Torquay Tourist Centre on Vaughan Parade has aleaflet on the Agatha Christie Mile, so called because it takes inmany of the locations that have Christie connections.

The faded but still lovely Pavilion was where Agatha went tomany concerts, including one she attended with Archie Christie,her first husband. A few steps from the Pavilion is the AgathaChristie bust, which was unveiled in September 1990 by thewriter’s daughter, Rosalind Hicks, to commemorate the centenaryof her mother’s birth.

Along the picturesque seafront is the Grand Hotel, where, inDecember 1913, Agatha and Archie spent their brief honeymoonbefore he shipped overseas to fight in World War I. The marriagedidn’t last—Archie turned out to be what the Brits call a “rotter”who cheated on his wife—but the hotel did, and today it’s afavorite with visitors to Torquay. Though the Grand is a four-starproperty with plenty of amenities, prices here are much lower thanthey are in London, with winter rates for double rooms starting aslow as £74, about $117 US.

Another hotel, the Imperial (which Christie renamed theMajestic), plays a role in her writing. It’s the setting of the openingchapter of Peril at End House and is described as “…in its owngrounds on a headland overlooking the sea. The gardens of thehotel lay below us freely interspersed with palm trees. The seawas of a deep and lovely blue.” Today the modernized Imperial

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The Grand Hotel, where Agatha and her husband Archie spent their brief honeymoon.

Lobby of the Imperial Hotel, the setting for the opening chapter of "Peril at End House.”


is part of the Barcelo hotel group and offers fall/winter pricing aslow as £59, or approximately $93 US for a double room.

During the war, Agatha worked as a nurse at Torquay TownHall, which served as a Red Cross hospital. When she transferred

to the Dispensary, she studied with Torquay’s leading pharmacist—and learned all about the poisons that were to become her preferred murder method.


Dame Agatha was born in Torquay on September 15, 1890.Every year, in mid-September, the town commemorates her birth-day. This past September, I joined the legions of fans who convergedon Torquay to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Christie’s birth ina weeklong festival of murder, mayhem, and mischief. The celebra-tion included some 40 events, among them appearances by JuliaMcKenzie, the new Miss Marple featured in the BBC films; aHercule Poirot lookalike; and Christie’s grandson, MathewPritchard. The schedule also included an old-fashioned English fetewith period costumes, a production of Witness for the Prosecution,and a grand birthday party with fireworks.

Dame Agatha was an intrepid traveler and explorer who visited Egypt and the Middle East and met her second husband,Max Mallowan, while she was viewing an excavation. In her imag-ination, she saw crime everywhere she went. The result: Murder inMesopotamia, They Came to Baghdad, and Death on the Nile.Christie rode the famous Venice-Simplon Express to Istanbul and,like all upper-class Britons of the time, stopped at the Pera Palace.She may even have written Murder on the Orient Express there.(Her room, 411, is now called the Agatha Christie Room.)

But it was the people and places of her own hometown ofTorquay, in the idyllic rural county of Devon, that really firedChristie's murderous imagination, resulting in no fewer than 15mysteries, some set in her own gracious Georgian home,

Greenway. Like other Christie devotees, I was eager to visit thelandmarks of Dame Agatha’s life—and the murder settings in herstories. The Torquay Tourist Centre on Vaughan Parade has aleaflet on the Agatha Christie Mile, so called because it takes inmany of the locations that have Christie connections.

The faded but still lovely Pavilion was where Agatha went tomany concerts, including one she attended with Archie Christie,her first husband. A few steps from the Pavilion is the AgathaChristie bust, which was unveiled in September 1990 by thewriter’s daughter, Rosalind Hicks, to commemorate the centenaryof her mother’s birth.

Along the picturesque seafront is the Grand Hotel, where, inDecember 1913, Agatha and Archie spent their brief honeymoonbefore he shipped overseas to fight in World War I. The marriagedidn’t last—Archie turned out to be what the Brits call a “rotter”who cheated on his wife—but the hotel did, and today it’s afavorite with visitors to Torquay. Though the Grand is a four-starproperty with plenty of amenities, prices here are much lower thanthey are in London, with winter rates for double rooms starting aslow as £74, about $117 US.

Another hotel, the Imperial (which Christie renamed theMajestic), plays a role in her writing. It’s the setting of the openingchapter of Peril at End House and is described as “…in its owngrounds on a headland overlooking the sea. The gardens of thehotel lay below us freely interspersed with palm trees. The seawas of a deep and lovely blue.” Today the modernized Imperial


The Grand Hotel, where Agatha and her husband Archie spent their brief honeymoon.

Lobby of the Imperial Hotel, the setting for the opening chapter of "Peril at End House.”


and more—fill the rooms, which are light and airy, creating a1930s setting with an overlay of 1950s amenities. In each room arescrapbooks containing Christie’s notes on parties and entertain-ments, dinner menus, as well as the sweet trivia of life atGreenway, which she described as “the loveliest place in theworld.” Dame Agatha’s presence is felt throughout the home,especially when a recording of her voice is played, in which shetalks about her career in a matter-of-fact way, saying she madenotes on plots as they occurred to her, but then had to find timeto do the writing.

Before leaving Greenway, I checked out the section of thehouse that had been turned into a five-bedroom rental apartmentthat sleeps 10 (rent is about £2700, or $4,294 US, a week in highseason, much less in winter). The furniture here is from theChristie collection and the kitchen is pure 1950s, making this

a dream spot for fans who are also lovers of all things retro. Aspecial treat was lunch in Christie’s own kitchen, dining onchicken cooked in a vintage Aga, followed by a luscious breadpudding. (Lunch is priced at a modest £15—around $23 US—fortwo courses.)

A final Christie adventure was a ride on the Paignton toDartmouth Steam Railway, a vintage train that runs seven milesfollowing the coast and the River Dart. Dame Agatha often tookthis journey, getting off at Churston Station to continue by car toher home at Greenway. She used the train in The ABC Murdersand again in Dead Man’s Folly. When it was time to return home,I felt as if I was not only leaving a place, but also a time—one Icould revisit by reading a favorite Agatha Christie novel.

For more information on the English Riviera, go towww.visitengland.com and www.englishriviera.co.uk

At 800-year-old Torre Abbey, head gardener Ali Marshall hascreated an homage to the novelist’s fondness for toxins: theAgatha Christie Potent Plants Garden, an instantly recognizablecornucopia of grow-your-own agents of homicide—dwarf peachesand nectarines, whose fruit stones produce cyanide, used inSparkling Cyanide; deadly nightshade, the weapon in The CaribbeanMystery; and aconite, which dispatched several characters in4.50 from Paddington.

Other treasures are found at the Agatha Christie Gallery of theTorquay Museum, including a vast collection of photographs of thewriter and her life in the town where she had been born. Theimages show a more innocent time when pleasures were simpler:afternoon tea at the Marine Spa, concerts at the Pavilion Theatre,roller-skating on the Princess Pier. A charming picture capturesAgatha skating in an ankle-length skirt and a big feathered hat. Inaddition to many of the writer’s personal items, there’s a history ofthe actors who played Poirot, starting with Charles Laughton in his1928 West End performance. (My least favorite was Albert Finney,who turned in a near-cartoonish performance in the 1974Hollywood version of Murder on the Orient Express.)

A highlight of my visit to the English Riviera was a tour ofGreenway, the 400-year-old holiday home Dame Agatha purchasedin 1938 for £6,000. To reach the house, which is located on theRiver Dart, I took the vintage Greenway bus; the house is alsoaccessible by ferry (which I rode on the return trip) and by car(advance parking reservations are necessary). Greenway was donat-ed to the National Trust by Christie’s family, and in 2009, after arestoration that cost £5.4 million (roughly $8.5 million US), it wasopened to the public. Stuffed with weird, wacky, and wonderfulthings, the Georgian house is warm and welcoming and very muchalive, as if Dame Agatha herself might still be in residence.

A pile of gardening hats belonging to her son-in-law rests ona table in the entrance hall, along with a (really) vintage mobilephone that looks as if it weighs 10 pounds. The author’s personalcollections—papier mache, pottery, ceramics, pictures, books,

The HiFlyer balloon ride soars above 800-year-old Torre Abbey, site of the Agatha Christie Potent Plants Garden.


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If there is a single dish that is most identi-fied with idyllic Devon, it is the CreamTea, a feast for the late afternoon—or for

any time at all. As a daughter of Torquay,Dame Agatha often enjoyed this simple trioof scones, strawberry jam and Devon clottedcream, and today, when visitors come to hercorner of England, a fine Cream Tea showsup on many a to-do list of attractions. Thanksto the areas lush grasslands and breed ofDevon cows, Double Devon Cream is justwhat it sounds like: the creamiest of creams,so thick that a knife can stand up in it.

There is talk now that one of the topproducers of this cream may make it avail-able, for now, what is available are the jarsof clotted cream and double Devon creamsold in gourmet markets. While they’re notas nutty, sweet and silky as the fresh versionserved in Devon, they still make for a tastyCream Tea.

Recipe for scones and jam for Devon Cream Tea, Courtesy ofRichard Hunt, award-winning Head Chef, Grand Hotel, Torquay

Scones8 ounces all purpose flour2 ounces superfine sugar2 ounces butter½ ounce powdered milk1 teaspoon baking powder½ pint buttermilk

Blend all the dry ingredients, then work the butter in with yourfingers as you would for a pastry. Add the buttermilk to gentlycreate a soft dough; do not overwork. Roll out gently, either withyour hands or with a rolling pin. Cut the scones with a roundform to your desired size (the top of a drinking glass will work).Glaze the scones with a beaten egg, then bake at 370 degrees F.for about 12 minutes or until they are risen and golden in color.

Homemade Strawberry Jam2 pounds strawberries1 ½ pounds superfine sugarJuice of 2 lemons3 Tablespoons of liquid pectin OR 2 ounces powdered pectin

Before beginning to cook, put a plate in the refrigerator; this is fortesting to see if your jam is done.

Wash and hull the berries, then break them up a bit. In alarge pot, heat the strawberries and sugar and bring to a rapidboil Add the lemon juice and pectin and bring back to a boil. Asyour mixture thickens, you can remove the cold plate from therefrigerator and start testing the jam by putting a teaspoon on theplate. If you get a “ruffle” on the plate when you push the teaspoonof jam, it is finished. If not, return the plate to the refrigerator andkeep cooking until you do get the “ruffle.”

When your jam cools, serve it with your scones and whateverversion of clotted cream you are able to buy in your area.


DEVON CREAM TEA


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