Sparkling Cyanide – Rosemary Bellini

Hello crime readers and food lovers!  This month our menu is a tribute to the late Rosemary Barton, one of the characters in Agatha Christie’s Sparkling Cyanide.  We are remembering Rosemary with a Rosemary Bellini.  We’ll get to her in a moment but first let’s take a moment to ponder the US title which was Remembered Death.  Now, why on earth when you have an AMAZING title like Sparkling Cyanide, would you change it to something as humdrum as Remembered Death? 

Sparkling Cyanide – The Plot

“Six people were thinking of Rosemary Barton who had died nearly a year ago…”

Agatha Christie – Sparkling Cyanide

A year before the novel is set the lovely Rosemary Barton and six of her family and friends gathered for dinner at the swanky Luxembourg Hotel. Rosemary collapsed and died during the dinner.  The coroner’s verdict was that she committed suicide due to depression after a bout of flu. (I was quite surprised to hear that depression from the flu was considered a thing back in the day.  I guess now with long covid, we are seeing much the same thing but under a different name).

Six months before the novel is set, Rosemary’s husband, George gets a series of anonymous letters saying that Rosemary was murdered.  George hatches a plot to find her killer by having another dinner at The Luxembourg exactly one year after Rosemary’s death with the same people attending.

Dumb idea?  Totally.  Because George dies of cyanide poisoning on the night.  

Making one of the dinner guests the murderer of both people.  If George was killed because he was getting too close to the truth,  who, at the table wanted Rosemary dead?  Turns out, everyone has a motive!

We have:

• Iris Marle, Rosemary’s sister.  She stood to inherit her sister’s considerable fortune
• George himself may have killed Roseary as he had discovered she was having an affair.  Did he do himself in out of guilt?
• The enigmatic Anthony Browne threatened Rosemary with death.  Did he poison her to keep her quiet about his shady past?
• Stephen Farraday, a politician whose career was on the up was having an affair with Rosemary.  Did he kill her to avoid a public scandal if she revealed their dalliance?
• Lady Alexandra (Sandra) Farraday, Stephen’s wife had a great reason for wanting Rosemary dead.  She wanted to keep her husband. 
• Ruth Lessing George’s secretary who has a crush on George and hates Rosemary

Good thing we have Co lonel Race on hand to bring the killer to justice!

The Moving Finger – The Covers

I was so happy to find a load of covers for Sparkling Cyanide and so many non-English covers!   However…Portugal and France both seem to have confused champagne for martinis as covers from both countries feature glasses containing olives. 

The Recipe – Rosemary Bellini

Print

Sparkling Cyanide – Rosemary Bellini

Print Recipe

A lovely twist on a traditional Bellini

• Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 peaches (I like white peaches but you can use yellow if you prefer them)
• 6 springs of rosemary
• 1 egg white
• 1 tbsp caster sugar plus more for garnish
• 1/2 glass white wine, prosecco, sparkling wine, orange juice or water
• 1 bottle champagne

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Halve the peaches
• Place the peach halves and two of the rosemary sprigs into a saucepan with the sugar and the 1/2 glass of wine / prosecco / juice water
• Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has melted and the peaches are soft. 
• Cool the peach mixture then puree.

Frosted Rosemary Garnish

• Lightly beat the egg white
• Take the 4 remaining rosemary sprigs and dip them in the egg white then dredge them in the caster sugar.
• Set aside.

Assembly

• When you are ready to serve, place a dollop of the peach puree into the bottom of a cocktail glass.  
• Top with champagne and give a light stir.
• Garnish each glass with a frosted rosemary spring.

Enjoy!

Every murderess was a nice girl once

 Sparkling Cyanide – Agatha Christie

Links To The Christieverse

None that I could find but Colonel Race appears in:

• The Man in the Brown Suit
• Cards on the Table
• Death on the Nile

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in  Sparkling Cyanide

• Champagne (specifically Cliquot 1926)
• Cherry Jam
• Oysters 
• Clear Soup
• Sole Luxembourg – I could not find a recipe for this and believe Christie might have made it up.  The link will take you to a recipe for Sole Meuniere.
• Grouse
• Poires Helene
• Chicken Livers in Bacon
• Tea and Coffee
• Spinach
• Beer and Spirits

January’s Read is Death Comes As The End

      SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS

We are told twice that a certain character has no pity in them.  I.e. is the type of person who may resort to murder…

Whose name might indicate that they are this type of person?