Hello friends, welcome to a special edition of Dining With The Dame. In this, which is a companion piece to last week’s post I will be doing a selective deep-dive into the good, the bad and the ugly of Death in The Clouds. And, to fortify ourselves on this journey, I am sharing a DITC inspired cocktail – The Bee Sting. Why not make yourself one and settle in for the ride. Fasten your seatbelts, this plane will hit some turbulence! BTW, this post does contain spoilers so if you have are planning on reading DITC, you may want to save this one for later!
The Boomslang
At the inquest of Madame Giselle, we find out that the poison on the tip of the blowpipe is from an African snake called a Boomslang. Whilst the word boomslang sounds like something unsavoury that I would need urban dictionary to define for me, it is actually the name of a highly venomous African Snake. I could find no verification to Christie’s assertion that if you inject the venom into a hyena, the hyena would die before the needle was withdrawn. However, according to McGill University
Because boomslang venom is a hemotoxin it’s not surprising that it can lead to major brain and muscle hemorrhage. But the venom also causes other symptoms like nausea, headaches and sleepiness. Perhaps what is most surprising is that this venom has the ability to make the victim bleed from every possible orifice
Good lord!!! Poor Madame Giselle!
DITC and Pop Culture
Boomslangs on a Plane?
I’m sure I’m not the only modern reader who on hearing about the boomslang wondered if just maybe DITC was, in part, an inspiration for this cinematic masterpiece!
Norman Gale
And whilst taking of pop culture references could Norman Gale be an inspiration for Norman Bates? I can find no verification of this however, it is entirely possible that Robert Bloch read DITC prior to writing Psycho in 1959. The similarity of the names made me suspicious of Norman Gale long before he was revealed as the murderer!
That he is a dentist also reminded me of Little Shop of Horrors:
Doctor Who
In the utterly amazing Doctor Who episode The Unicorn and The Wasp, The Doctor and Donna meet Agatha Christie. They investigate murders in a country house, they make references to Murder on The Orient Express, Crooked House, Sparkling Cyanide and Cards on The Table, Agatha Christie suggests that they use “ze little grey cells” to solve the murder, and the villain turns out to be a giant alien wasp!
DITC And The Poirotverse
More than any of the other books I have read so far, DITC refers to some of Poirot’s previous cases:
On page 149 of my edition, the following exchange between Poirot and Japp occurs.
“I’ve questioned the passengers, too. Everyone can’t be lying.”
“In one case I investigated everyone was”
Which is a delightful callback to Murder on The Orient Express.
Earlier in the book, Inspector Fournier mentions that the murder of Madame Giselle likely occurred during a psychological moment.
“That is true,” said Poirot. “I remember a case in which I was concerned – a case of poison where that very point arose”
This is a reference to Three Act Tragedy
The Ugly Side of DITC
Ok, this is where things take a turn. Take a big gulp of your Bee Sting to fortify yourself and let’s get into it.
There is a lot to like in DITC but there is also much that is repugnant. Take, for instance, this passage regarding the budding romance between Jane Grey and Norman Gale.
The promised dinner and theatre with Norman Gale had duly come off. It was one of those enchanting evenings when every word and confidence exchanged seemed to reveal a bond of sympathy and shared tastes.
They liked dogs and disliked cats. They both hated oysters and loved smoked salmon. They liked Greta Garbo and disliked Katherine Hepburn. They didn’t like fat women and admired really jet black hair. They disliked very red nails. They disliked loud voices, noisy restaurants and Negroes. They preferred buses to tubes”
Yes, you read that correctly!
I was like “loud voices, noisy restaurants and WTAF??????”
The fact that it is also mentioned in the same breath as an “enchanting evening” only makes it more revolting.
And BTW, this is why I really wanted Norman to be the murderer. I was only disappointed that he didn’t bump off the equally awful Jane Grey along the way!
This is not the only racist slur that occurs in DITC:
- The jury finds Poirot guilty possibly because he is “a little foreigner”
- Mrs Mitchell, the wife of one of the stewards is utterly indignant about the murder. “Who’s to know what reason foreigners have for murdering each other; and if you ask me, I think it’s a dirty trick to have done it on a British aeroplane”
- There is also an anti-Semitic slur made by one of Jane Grey’s colleagues at the hair salon
Urrgghhh…I did warn you this was going to get rocky.
Should I stay or should I go?
Reading DITC posed a real dilemma for me. It was like finding a big old turd in what had been a formerly enjoyable soup. Not only does it put you off that particular bowl of soup, but it also puts you off soup altogether. I did wonder if I should continue with this project at all after reading it. In the end, I decided I would complete my Dining with The Dame project but, like here, I would call out the bad and the ugly side of Christie along with the good.
Let’s wash the nasty taste out of our mouths with our lovely sweet / sour spicy cocktail – The Bee Sting!
The Bee Sting
A citrussy cocktail with a chilli kick!
Ingredients
For the jalapeno honey syrup:
- 2 tbsp pickled jalapeno chilies, drained of brine
- 1 cup honey
- 30ml hot water
For the Cocktail
- 45ml reposado tequila
- 30 ml jalapeno honey syrup, cooled
- 30ml freshly squeezed lemon juice or a combination of lemon and lime juice
- 2 slices of jalapeno chilli
To Garnish
- A slice of Jalapeno
- A lemon twist
Instructions
To Make The Jalapeno Honey Syrup:
- Place the honey and the chillies in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Allow to cool, then strain.
- Mix 1 tbsp of the jalapeno honey with 30ml warm water and allow to cool to make the syrup.
To Make the Cocktail:
- Muddle the jalapeno slices in your cocktail shaker.
- Add the tequila, lemon juice and jalapeno honey syrup.
- Fill with ice and shake for 15 seconds.
- Strain and garnish with a slice of jalapeno and a twist of lemon
Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe was inspired by the recipe for the Bee Sting cocktail on Serious Eats and Action Bronson’s recipe for pickled jalapeno honey.
There will be a lot of the honey left over – use this to make more Bee Stings, as a drizzle over fish or chicken, in salad dressings or as per Action Bronson, serve it over flatbreads spread with ricotta and hazelnuts.
Have you read Death in The Clouds? What did you think of it?
