Murder on the English Riviera
By Vivien Devlin
“I remember, I remember the house where
I was born ..
Ashfield. When I dream, it is always of Ashfield.
I had a very happy childhood. I had a home and garden that I loved,..
O ma chere maison”
 Agatha Christie was born in Torquay,
England on 15 September, 1890 and it was at her beloved Ashfield, where she
lived, on and off, for almost fifty years. Her parents were Frederick Miller, a
wealthy American (who enjoyed a leisurely life with a private income from
grandfather's business in New York), and Clara Bohemer, a British aristocrat.
With her elder brother and sister, it was a privileged life of nurses,
governess, cooks and servants, the fashionable society of the Victorian Spa town
and the villages, hotels and country houses around Devon. This was the starting
point for her work as a writer, the places, people and lifestyle which inspired
Agatha for many of her thrilling detective novels.
 It was at Ashfield in 1916 during the
First World War when she began writing her first novel. Agatha had taken work
at the chemist learning about drugs, medicines and poisons. As she wrote in her
autobiography: “ It was while I was working in the dispensary that I first
conceived the idea of writing a detective story. ..Who was to be murdered? A
husband could murder his wife. Who could I have as a detective? Then I
remembered our Belgian refugees living in the parish. How about a refugee police
officer. I settled on an exiled Detective from Belgium. He would be meticulous,
tidy and he should be very brainy.”
And thus Hercule Poirot was created to
make his first appearance in “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” (1920), in which
he and Captain Hastings investigate the death by strychnine poisoning of Emily
Inglethorpe.
 Agatha Christie is the world's
best-known murder mystery writer and the most widely published, prolific author
of all time. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language
and another billion translated into 44 foreign languages. Television and film
adaptations of the Poirot and Miss Marple novels continue to be phenomenally
popular. She wrote over 80 crime novels, 19 plays, poetry and an autobiography.
“The Mousetrap” is now in its 55th year and the longest running play in history
but still weaving its magic as a London tourist attraction.
The Agatha Christie Festival
 To commemorate the 30th anniversary of
her death in 2006, Torquay organised the first Agatha Christie Festival in
recognition of her life and work in and around her home town. So popular was
this event attracting hundreds of British and international visitors that the
2nd Agatha Christie Festival takes place from 10 – 16th September 2007.
For theatre lovers or Shakespeare
students, a visit to Stratford upon Avon is a must, to tour the ancient town
and see a couple of plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. In the same way, if
you’re a Christie reader or enjoy the Poirot or Miss Marple TV series, a visit
to Torquay is a prime destination at any time of year. But the Festival in
September has a real sense of occasion, an atmosphere of camaraderie and
celebration, the chance to meet like-minded crime fiction fans gathering
together like a convention. We were all keen to follow in Agatha’s footsteps
around her favourite haunts and real locations from her crime novels, in this
charming, quaint old seaside resort.
 The week long programme for 2007 offers
an enticing selection of entertainment, theatre, music, talks, tours and river
cruises: Take a guided walk around Torquay by local Christie expert Joan Nott,
visiting some of the famous sites associated with her life and books; An
exhibition of unique period photographs at Torquay Museum; At Oldway Mansion, a
1920s style tea dance in the ballroom where Isadora Duncan once performed and to
celebrate the 70th anniversary of Death on the Nile, the Peter Ustinov movie
will be screened outdoors on the lawn. One of the highlights is the stage play
The Unexpected Guest performed by the Agatha Christie Theatre Company at the
Princess Theatre. The Festival finale is a Murder Mystery ball at the Grand
Hotel. A magical day trip is to take a river cruise to Greenway, her home where
she lived in later life, with its magnificent woodland garden beside the river.
 I recommend travelling down to Devon by
train. I enjoyed a relaxing journey (Virgin and First Great Western trains
changing at Newton Abbot) amidst lovely scenery to arrive at Torquay station. I
then took a taxi to The Imperial, a white ‘wedding cake’ hotel perched on a high
cliff on the north side of Tor Bay. Built in 1866, this grand 5 star hotel with
a stunning marble lobby, retains the glamour and style of the turn of the
century era when Agatha Christie would have visited for tea dances. Bedrooms and
suites come in all grades and sizes - many have their own private balcony.
I was shown to a spacious Garden room
with French windows lead out into a private patio with my own sun lounger. Lush
gardens were laid out below and beyond was the sparkling sea. There were a few
yachts sailing around the bay. In early September the late afternoon air was
warm with a soft breeze in the palm trees. I really felt I had arrived in Nice
on the French Riviera! This Victorian resort offers traditional old fashioned
elegance with all the modern facilities for the 21st century traveller. Guests
can relax around the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, sauna and be pampered in
the beauty salon. Keep fit in the gym or play squash and tennis.
 Christie renamed the Imperial as the
Majestic Hotel for her 1932 novel, Peril at End House. The story opens with
Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings sitting on the terrace as he describes the
hotel –
“ in its own grounds on a headland
overlooking the sea. The gardens of the hotel lay below us freely interspersed
with palm trees. The sea was of a deep and lovely blue. ”
 In The Body in the Library on a quiet
morning in the fictional village of St. Mary Mead, Colonel Bantry and his wife
awake to find the dead body of young platinum blonde woman dressed in a ballgown
lying on the carpet in their library. As well as contacting the police, Mrs
Bantry calls her friend, the local amateur sleuth, Miss Marple. The
investigation takes the two women to the Majestic Hotel, Danemouth, (based on
the Imperial, Torquay), from where Ruby a young ballroom dancer has disappeared.
The terrace at The Imperial is also the setting for the final chapter of
Sleeping Murder where Miss Marple unravels the mystery.
 Traditional dinner dances still take
place in the Palm Court Ballroom and afternoon tea is served along the picture
windows in the Conservatory. Out on the Terrace you can sit under large
sunshades for lunch a glass of wine and admire the fabulous views over Tor Bay.
Dinner is served with impeccable style at the Regatta Restaurant, a magnificent
pillared cream, terracotta and gold dining room. White linen dressed tables,
glistening crystal and silverware await. Waiters present large parchment a la
carte menus in folders featuring inspirational dishes based on classic French
classic, with produce sourced from the south west of England – Brixham seafood,
Cornish beef, local cheese, strawberries and clotted Devonshire cream. Wine and
dine here as you experience panoramic views of the English Riviera.
Following in Agatha’s footsteps
Visitors can explore the Agatha Christie
Mile, a signposted trail with many places of interests marked with a plaque. It
runs along the seafront promenade between the Imperial Hotel and the Grand hotel
at the far side of the bay. Just down the hill from the Imperial, the first
landmark is Beacon Cove, designated in the late 1890s as the Ladies Bathing
beach where Agatha and her friends would take an exhilarating swim. Nearby is
the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, which her father would visit every day to play
whist with his fellow retired friends. The annual Torbay Regatta was a great
occasion when the family would watch the yachts from the harbour and the
fireworks at night. Regatta day still takes place today in August with yacht
races, a fair and celebration fireworks.
 On the promenade is the Pavilion where
Agatha enjoyed many classical concerts including a Wagner performance in January
1913 in the company of Archie Christie, whom she would soon become engaged and
marry the following year. The Pavilion is now a shopping centre but still
retains the central dome, cream stonework and art nouveau design. Stroll
through the Princess Gardens to the Pier where Agatha would roller skate as a
child. Nearby is the Torquay Tourist Information centre and a superb Agatha
Christie shop selling books, films and souvenirs. Outside is a bronze bust
sculpture of Agatha Christie, unveiled in 1990, the centenary of her birth. At
the far end of the bay is the Grand Hotel, where Agatha spent her honeymoon
night on Christmas Eve 1914.
Touring the English Riviera
Greenway
 “We went over to Greenway and very
beautiful the house and grounds were. A white Georgian house of about 1780 with
woods sweeping down to the Dart river below and a lot of shrubs and trees – the
ideal house – a dream house”
Agatha Christie
A special excursion when visiting
Torquay is to drive or take a boat trip to Greenway, her summer home in later
life, to explore its glorious botanicial gardens beside the river. Agatha
purchased the house in 1938 for £ 6000. In 2000 her daughter Rosalind and her
family gifted the house and garden to the National Trust for conservation. From
March to October each year, the 30 acres of gardens, which date back 400 years,
are open to the public. There are enchanting woodland walks along zigzagging
paths leading here, there, up and down the hill to the river, rhododedron
bushes, rare plants from the southern hemisphere, wild flowers, bluebells,
ponds, parkland, magnolia trees, Californian Redwoods, Monkey Puzzle trees,
walled kitchen gardens, a vinery and a peach house. Agatha loved the peace and
tranquility of the garden where she could wander to find secret, abandoned
corners - “wild, wild as a beautiful jungle”. It is now preserved as it was in
her day evoking a romantic sense of mystery and timelessness.
 A favourite place for Agatha was the
Boathouse, simply furnished with wicker chairs and shabby leather sofa piled
with cushions beside the fire, all left untouched for visitors to see today.
This private hideaway on the riverbank certainly inspired the writer’s
imagination for murder - the Boathouse was where Marlene Tucker was strangled in
Dead Man’s Folly.
 A major restoration is underway of the
18th century house itself at Greenway which will open to visitors in 2009.
Agatha’s grandson Mathew Prichard has gifted the contents of the house to the
National Trust in order to exhibit a unique collection of furniture, personal
belongings and books a well as the library featuring a decorative frieze.
Upstairs the house is being renovated to provide a holiday apartment for ten
people on short term rental. Two cottages, The Lodge and the Stable Loft in the
grounds may be rented now through the National Trust.
A grant of £ 800,000 has been given by
the British Heritage Lottery fund to assist with the refurbishment. The National
Trust has launched The Greenway campaign to appeal for donations to help restore
Agatha Christie’s former home which was a magical retreat to relax with family
and friends in the summer.
'I thought tonight sitting here, it is
the loveliest place in the world.' - Agatha Christie
Paignton and Dartmouth railway
 Take the old fashioned steam train from
Paignton along the coast to Kingswear on the River Dart. Greenway is near the
railway and she often caught the train from London to Churston Station where she
would be picked up by car. And today you can still disembark at Churston and
take the footpath for a two mile walk to Greenway
Hercule Poirot also took this route when
he was investigating The ABC Murders. He receives a letter warning him that a
third murder will take place at “ Churston on the 30.th” Hastings relates the
story –
I opened the railway guide -
"Churston, Devon " I read " from
Paddington 20miles. Population 656. It sounds a fairly small place. Surely our
man will be bound to be noticed there."
"Even so another life will have been
taken " murmured Poirot."What are the trains?” "There's a midnight
train-sleeping car to Newton Abbot - gets there 6.08am and then on to Churston
at 7.15."
"We will take that Hastings."
……….
Mr ….came out with the rest of the
audience from the Torquay Palladium.
Newsboys passed along crying out
"Latest......Homicidal Maniac at Churston."
They carried placards on which was
written: Churston murder .latest.
There were big headlines: Sir
Carmichael Clarke Murdered.”
And you can visit Elberry Cove where the
murder was committed. !
 Dartmouth
The historic port of Dartmouth is also
on the Agatha Christie trail where several novels were set. The Royal Castle
Hotel became the Royal George Hotel in The Regatta Mystery featuring Parker Pyne.
The hotel also features in Ordeal by Innocence when Dr. Calgary visits Dartmouth
and the movie based on this novel starring Donald Sutherland was filmed here. In
Dead Man’s Folly, Etienne De Sousa anchors his yacht in Dartmouth harbour and
takes a river launch to Nasse House nearby – based on Agatha’s own home,
Greenway.
This rural south west corner of England
has a remarkable mild climate year round where exotic tropical plants flourish.
The wide promenades, sandy beaches, boating marinas and grand resort hotels of
Torquay, Paignton, Brixham and Dartmouth attract over a million visitors every
year. Torquay is an elegant Mediterranean-style seaside resort located on a
sweeping bay lined with palm trees, pretty gardens and a contemporary and lively
waterfront esplanade of seafood restaurants, café bars, gift shops and boat trip
kiosks. As well as experiencing the world of Agatha Christie, there is so much
for the whole family to enjoy along the English Riviera.
 Visitor information
A new Tourism website offers an
itinerary planner, guide to accommodation, events, Agatha Christie Festival, on
line booking system and language translation to assist people worldwide to plan
a visit to the English Riviera
www.englishriviera.co.uk
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