Hello crime readers and food lovers!  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which is Christie number 6 has a special memory for me because this was one of the books we had oin the bookshelf when I was growing up. This was probably one of the first Christie books I ever read!.  It was also the book that made Christie’s name as a writer for the innovative twist at the end.  It has been recognised, many times, as one of the best and/or most influential crime novels ever written.  Never mind the accolades though, it also, beautifully and comically features one of my own favourite foods  – a Welsh Rarebit!

One of the few good things working from home for the last… Good Lord five months now…. is that I can whip up a Welsh rarebit for lunch whenever I choose.  Turns out I choose to do so quite frequently!  It’s tasty, filling, perfect with a bowl of soup, a salad, or just on its own!  Of course, I ‘ am not alone in loving a bit o’ Welsh Rarebit!

The normally curmudgeonly Martin Lampen claims

Cheese on toast, its Welsh Rarebit to those in the know.  It’s the perfect British rainy day lunchtime snack – quick, cheap, easy to prepare….it’s a national icon”

– The Knickerbocker Glory Years

Albert Jack, however, draws attention to the rather  origin of its name by calling it

” the most insulting way to serve cheese on toast”

This is because the English thought it would be funny to mock the Welsh by insinuating that they were too poor to have proper meat and so had to have cheese instead!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd- The Plot

James Sheppard is the local doctor in Kings Abbot.  He lives with his sister Caroline who knows all the gossip and scandal in the town and who is currently interested in finding out all about the “foreign” gentleman who has moved in next door.

A wealthy widow in the town has committed suicide by drinking veronal.  Her fiance, Roger Ackroyd, is in a state of agitation because the day before Mrs Ferrars (the widow) confessed to him that she murdered her first husband.  She also told him that someone knew she had done it and was blackmailing her.

That night, Roger Ackroyd is stabbed to death in his study by persons unknown…

Turns out the foreign gentleman next door is no other than  Hercule Poirot who has moved to Kings Abbot to grow marrows in his retirement.  (BTW,  Kings Abbott is a real place and it looks absolutely GORGEOUS!)

Anyhoo, no one is getting away with stabbing people to death in the neck on Poirot’s watch. What follows are:

• Mysterious phonecalls
• Strangers lurking in the bushes
• Chairs suspiciously out of place
• Stolen money
• Secret Marriages
• And of course, Poirot using his little grey cells to solve the crime and out the murderer!
• There is also a bit of slapstick when Dr. Sheppard gets hit over the head with one of Poirot’s marrows.  I mean it’s not as good as this classic from the Amazing Race.  But in terms of people getting forcefully hit with produce, it’s up there!  Also, who knew I was keeping that list?

The Covers

Only three covers this time –  the one from my childhood, the one I read which was a graphic novel! And my favourite of them all – I mean is it just me or does Roger look hot in that third one?

The Recipe – Welsh Rarebit

I need to set the scene a bit on this one. Dr. Sheppard invites Poirot round for lunch.  However, there were only two chops available for the lunch table.  In order to save face, Caroline Sheppard pretends to be a vegetarian and lunches on a Welsh Rarebit.

‘With magnificent mendacity, [she] explained to Poirot that … she adhered strictly to a vegetarian diet. She descanted ecstatically on the delights of nut cutlets (which I am quite sure she has never tasted) and ate a Welsh rarebit with gusto and frequent cutting remarks as to the dangers of ‘flesh’ foods.’

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie

The Recipe for Welsh Rarebit I used comes from Cookery The Australian Way which was my high school home economics cookbook!  As you can see from the state of the page, this has been used a LOT!   I have tried other recipes for Welsh Rarebit but this is the one I have returned to time and time again for the last…hmmm…lets  not count the years since I was in high school!

Other Food Mentioned in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

• Nut Cutlets
• Bacon and Eggs
• Chops

Stay safe friends and have a great week!