Hello crime readers and food lovers! Today’s Dining With The Dame novel, The Hollow, contains many references to food so I did not have to resort to any terrible puns. The novel was published in 1946 which makes me wonder if, despite rationing continuing well into the 1950s, there was a sense of post-war abundance that fuelled so many food references! I chose Caramel Custard as my menu item for The Hollow as not only it is referred to in the novel but it is also one of my favourite desserts!
Like me (and Poirot) many of you will be more familiar with the French name for this dish, Crème Caramel. My recipe for this classic French dish came from the amazing cookbook by thriller author Len Deighton, The Action Cookbook.
The dedication for the The Hollow reads:
For LARRY and DANAE
With apologies for using ther swimming pool as the scene of a murder
And for my mind, the best scene in the Poirot episode features that pool. It reminds me of a Slim Aarons pool shot…with a little murder thrown in!
The Hollow – The Plot
Of course, say what you like, a murder is an awkward thing—it upsets the servants and puts the general routine out
Agatha Christie – The Hollow
Who killed Doctor John Christow? His wife Gerda stands by his dying body holding a revolver. But his last word was “Henrietta”, the name of his mistress. He has also just recently spurned his former fiance, actress Veronica Cray.
Could one of these three women be reponsible for his death? Or could someone else have done it?
Poirot cannot rid the feeling that the murder scene is staged
For what he was looking at was a highly artifiical murder scene. By the side of the pool was the body, artistically arranged with an outflung arm and even some red paint dripping gently over the edge of the concrete into the pool. It was a spectacular body, that of a handsome fair haired man. Standing over the body, revolver in hand, was a woman…
And there were three other actors. On the far side of the pool was a tall young woman…she had a basket in her hands full of dahlia heads. A little further off was a man, a tall inconspicuous man in a shooting coat, carrying a gun. And immadiately on his left with a basket of eggs in her hand was his hostess, Lady Angkatell.
It was clear to Poirot that several different paths converged here at the swimming pool and that these people has each arrived by a different path.
It was all very mathematical and artificial
Agatha Christie – The Hollow
Luckily Poirot is around to cut through the artifice to find out whodunnit!
The Hollow – The Covers
I believe we have our first Japanese cover in the mix today! And possibly the first Polish cover too! Most of these stick to the elements of the swimming pool, the gun, the house. A few also nod to Henrietta being a sculpturer. But bless the French for their brightly coloured pool float flamingo!
The Recipe: Caramel Custard
The Len Deighton Acion Cookbook was first published in 1965 It was a compilation of “cookstrips” also drawn by Deighton and originally published in The Observer. It is a truly wonderful cookbook!
After the ducks there was a caramel custard which, Lady Angkatell said showed just the right feeling on the part of Mrs. Medway. Cooking, she said, really gave great scope to delicacy of feeling.
“We are only, as she knows, moderately fond of caramel custard. There would be something very gross, just after the death of a friend, in eating one’s favourite pudding. But caramel custard is so easy – slippery if you know what I mean”
Agatha Christie – The Hollow
Links To The Christieverse
Lucy Angkatell says that Poirot was in Baghdad “solving something” when her husband was the High Commissioner there but I could find no reference to speciifc cases.
Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in The Hollow
- Joint of Mutton
- Pudding (burnt)
- Breakfast
- Cucumbers
- Bread
- Souffle
- Sherry
- Cocktails
- Ducks (eaten cold)
- Soup
- Brandy
- Coffee
- Sandwiches
- Tea
- Eggs
- Kidneys
- Chestnuts
- Pint of Ale
- Steak and Chips
- Blanc et noir (they call this dessert by another name)
- Lobster
- Vegetables
- Runner beans
- Pastry
- Chicken
- Crepes Suzette
- Souffle Surprise
- Apple Tart
- Apple Dumplings
Our March read is The Labours of Hercules
Have a great week!
