Page 184 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

2004, after which the 237-acre estate was
AGATHA'S MYSTERIES
Agatha Christie burst onto the mystery novel
scene in 1920 with her first book, “The Mysterious
Affair at Styles.”
With scores of her books to choose from, new
readers may find it daunting to select some of her
best titles. But she offered some clues, by listing in
1972 her favorites. Here they are:
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot
Mystery (1926)
• Thirteeen Problems (1932)
• Murder on The Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot
Mystery (1934)
• And Then There Were None (1939)
• The Moving Finger: A Miss Marple Mystery
(1943)
• Towards Zero 1944)
• Crooked House (1949)
• A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery
(1950)
• Ordeal by Innocence (1958)
• Endless Night 1967)
184 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022
given to The National Trust. A massive project
to repair the home and to conserve and catalog
its contents took place before it opened to visi-
tors in 2009.
To fans, Christie pretended to be a normal
housewife or favorite aunt who liked to write,
but the depth of such a grandiose deception is
revealed quickly after walking through the door
ot the Georgian-style home. This was the home
of a complex woman who had a lust for life and
to aquire knowledge.
She and her husband Max traveled the world
and Agatha, though home-schooled, possessed
an incredible intellect. She learned to surf,
played the piano and sang quite well, and
amassed an immense collection of artwork, cu-
rios and souvenirs, many related to her hus-
band's work in the Middle East. A strong
aversion to public speaking kept her out of the
limelight of stage and guest appearances.
Working as a pharmacist's assistant in World
War I, Agatha acquired a knowledge of
medicines – and poisons – that was brought to
use in many of her diabolical plots.
Born in 1890 In Torquay on the English Riv-
iera, Agatha had an unconventional childhood,
living with a much older sister and brother and
her parents. Her father died when she was 11
and much of her early education was completed
at home, a Victorian villa named Ashfield that
was razed in 1962. The nearby beach was a
great source of enjoyment for the young girl, as
was studying opera.
You don't go far at Greenway before coming
across the first “whodunit.” Just inside, in the
entrance hall, is a portrait of George Washing-
ton, a surprise in what otherwise is a very
British home, complete with Aga kitchen stove.
If you dig into Agatha's past, you'll find a clue
as to why Washington occupies such a promi-
nent place in her house. Her father was Ameri-
can and her mother was British. Agatha’s
parents almost moved to the United States, but
the lure of Torquay, a beachfront resort, killed
that idea. But her American roots were never
far.