English crime writer Agatha Christie – one of the most successful novelists of all time – was born on this day in 1890.

“Food has a starring role within many of Agatha Christie’s books," writes Stephanie Russell in her feature Delicious Death: Food in Christie on the legendary novelist's official website, "whether it’s to reflect the time period, set the scene, show the strictures of routine, display class distinction and domesticity, or offer comfort. Often used as a murder weapon, it can also be used as an indicator that all is not well, as a disruption to routine or as change in a character’s habits.” 

Meanwhile, cookbook author Karen Pierce says in her article Cook Like Christie: A Look at Gastronomical Delights Inspired by the Grand Dame of Detective Fiction: “Christie loved good food, but this collection of recipes. . . examines the different ways she incorporates various meals, dishes, drinks, and ingredients into her novels. Occasionally she wields food as a weapon, but more often meals serve as plot devices. In her stories, food develops characters or invokes settings, whether familiar or foreign. Through 33 novels and more than 50 short stories, Poirot, with his sensitive but particular stomach, pursues gastronomic pleasure, regardless of the body count.”

And The Daily Beast website reveals the guilty pleasure that drove Christie on to her amazing literary feats:

"Miss Marple famously delighted in clotted cream, but her appetite pales in comparison to that of her creator. Agatha Christie was so partial to cream {header photo} that she regularly kept some by her typewriter, to sip while she wrote. . . Christie grew up in Devon county, where clotted cream was served as a traditional accompaniment to scones during teatime (hence the name Devonshire cream). But often Christie found the scone superfluous, and just ate the cream by the spoonful instead. “So much nicer than cod liver oil, my mother used to say,” she wrote."