The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and the Sylvia Beach Hotel
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is considered to be one of Agatha Christie’s most famous books. Doctor James Sheppard narrates the story of how he received a call from Roger Ackroyd’s butler saying that poor Roger had been murdered. Naturally, Dr. Sheppard hightails it right over, only to find out that Parker never called him, and Roger has locked himself in his study. They both break down the door and find Roger Ackroyd, indeed, has been stabbed to death. So who called Dr. Sheppard if it wasn’t the butler? And most importantly, why did someone knock off the kind, wealthy widower, Mr. Ackroyd? Mysteries, twists, and suspects keep piling up. But luckily, Hercule Poirot happens to be staying next door to Dr. Sheppard and is all too ready to unravel this mess. With the help of his “little grey cells,” Poirot’s brain is able to sort out the astonishing truth—a big twist that I did not see coming!
Here are some quotes to entice you:
“I am sorry to say I detest Mrs. Ackroyd. She is all chains and teeth and bones.” –thinks Dr. Sheppard about Mrs. Cecil Ackroyd pg 34
“She gave me a handful of assorted knuckles and rings to squeeze, and began talking volubly.” –About Mrs. Cecil Ackroyd pg 34
“Me, I am famous for my little ideas.” –Hercule Poirot pg 200
“You should employ your little grey cells.” –Hercule Poirot pg 216
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is definitely worth checking out. So far, I’ve also enjoyed: Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, as well as And Then There Were None.
But there are so many more I plan on reading one day. Others on top of that list are:
–Murder at the Vicarage – supposedly the best book with Miss Marple as the sleuth.
–Crooked House – a standalone that has neither Hercule Poirot nor Miss Marple.
–Endless Night – which I understand to be not so much of a mystery as gothic fiction.
–The Secret Agency –the first of the Tommy & Tuppence novels which includes some sassy repartee.
Okay enough about that, this review is really a segue to the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Oregon. 😊 It’s about my wonderful stay at the book-themed hotel.
The Sylvia Beach Hotel
Photo: Courtesy of the Sylvia Beach Hotel. Arrow Pointing to the Agatha Christie Room: Courtesy of me.
The Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, Oregon has been on my bucket list for quite some time now. And finally, I am able to put a big, beautiful checkmark next to it. Last month my husband and I went on an Oregon Coast vacation and staying at the Sylvia Beach Hotel was one of the biggest draws of the trip. I had splurged on the Agatha Christie Room with sweeping ocean views and a balcony. It’s one of the priciest rooms, but like my L’Oréal hair dye assures me, I’m worth it—and I was not disappointed!
Besides clues, there were little quotes by or about Agatha Christie. There was also a complete deluxe, hardback set of her books, as well as many paperback versions.
Of course, I had intentionally taken an Agatha Christie book on the trip with me (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd), and loved reading it while being immersed in Agatha’s quasi-world for two nights.
I also loved looking out at that spectacular view we had—most of the time. On our stay, I learned that inland heat causes coastal fog. As the rest of the West Coast was sweltering in 90-100* weather, the beach was cool and refreshing which was nice, but our stunning views of the ocean weren’t always there. One day it was completely fogged in, the other nice and sunny.
View from our balcony.
By the way, I had erroneously thought the beach there was called Sylvia Beach. Wrong! The hotel is named after Sylvia Beach, the famous American bookseller and publisher who owned the original Shakespeare & Co. bookstore in Paris from 1919 until 1941. It’s at a different location than the Shakespeare & Co. that you see all over Pinterest. (Another one on my bucket list, which you’re likely getting tired of hearing about.) The beach in Newport, OR is actually called Nye Beach.
Besides booking the best room, we also booked a dinner at their restaurant called Tables of Content. I was more than “content” with the dinner! It was a delicious and wonderful three-hour affair.
Breakfast room on the left. Photo of dining room on the right: borrowed from The Sylvia Beach Hotel website.
Dinner was served in the downstairs dining room where we had some tasty breakfasts in the mornings. Transformed with tablecloths and finery, we sat at one of the tables with eight people and were served family style with several courses, starting with broccoli cheese soup, then homemade bread and locally sourced salad. For the main course I had seared tuna with generous portions of asparagus and new potatoes from the bowls that were passed around. Dessert was a mouthwatering lavender panna cotta. We went all out and had the wine pairing to go with the meal. And how fun it was to meet and talk to fellow book lovers! The whole experience was such a treat.
I would like to come back and try out some other rooms, as one of my friends did. She’s merrily been making her rounds through many authors’ rooms. She’s very well-read. I wouldn’t mind snuggling up in Oscar Wilde’s room (yes, I know) or even finding myself between Herman Melville’s sheets. I mean, I have conquered his sizeable Moby-Dick (477 pages), so I feel like I have earned that right.
As guests, we were allowed to check out any of the vacant rooms. Below are sneak peaks of some of them. Although I wanted to burst in and check out the Jules Verne and Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) rooms, the occupants frowned on that. Just kidding; I did not try to enter their rooms.
Above left: John Steinbeck room. Right: Door to Jules Verne room.
Above: Ernest Hemingway Room.
Above: Upstairs reading room, with a library loft above it.
Above: Lobby Mural and upstairs reading room view.
Well, that’s the end of my tour, but you can see more of the themed rooms at http://sylviabeachhotel.com
Happy reading!
Happy travels!
Annette
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