One of my favorite rooms at Greenway House was the dining room. Here was where Agatha Christie celebrated holidays with her husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan, her daughter Rosalind and her grandson, Matthew. You’ll note there’s a small pitcher in front of Agatha Christie’s seat, whereas the other settings have wine glasses. That’s because Agatha Christie was a teetotaler. Rather than alcohol, she preferred to drink Devonshire cream. (Just as a side note, I looked up the calorie count on Devonshire cream and it’s 73 calories a tablespoon!) She also liked to drink a glass or two of Devonshire cream while she wrote. Perhaps this is a secret to a long career. 
At one end of the dining room was this intriguing little knick knack, that I assume is a raven. The whole house is awash with knick knacks and I was told that, when the National Trust was going through the house, they uncovered Agatha Christie’s Order of the British Empire medal under a pile of books. Incidentally, there is a person who has the job of being a Writer-in-Residence at Greenway House and she is leading a writing workshop in which writers will be prompted to use objects in Agatha Christie’s collection as a starting point for their stories. How fabulous is that?
Another lovely room was upstairs, where there is a collection of Agatha Christie’s first editions. I tried to find her typewriter, but the guide told me that she preferred to speak into a Dictaphone. Greenway House was where she went to relax after writing books. So not a lot of writing took place there. There’s also a closet full of her dresses and hats.
Tomorrow I’ll discuss where murder took place at Greenway!
