The 8:55 to Baghdad: From London to Iraq on the Trail of Agatha Christie and the Orient Express

by Andrew Eames

Book Overview

Travel journalist Andrew Eames was in the ancient Syrian city of Aleppo when he met an elderly lady who had known Agatha Christie. Fascinated by the exotic history of this quintessentially English... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 158567673X
• ISBN13: 9781585676736
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Abrams Press
• Length: 401 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Good stuff

This wonderful piece of travel literature is a good quick, fun, enlightening read. It follows the Orient express from London, to Trieste, through Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria and on to Iraq. Many interesting people are met along the way and the fascinating history of the various countries is told in a new fresh light. Also Agatha Christies `secret' life is brought to light. Topics include, sex in Serbia, Tsar Boris and his love for trains, genocide in Croatia, and the history of Trieste and the Orient Express. A wonderful book, that makes excellent reading as a companion to any trip to eastern Europe or Turkey as well as a good companion on any trip. Seth J. Frantzman

I wish I took this trip

I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie and travel books and this book seemed like it would be a great combination of the two. It was and it was much more. Eames deftly handles the bio-history of Christie, the juxtaposition of her trip 75 years earlier with his modern day experience, as well as giving very sharp insight into the people and history of today. I was especially interested, and surprised, to read his detailed accounts of traveling through the recently peaceful Balkans and the people he encountered. I had not expected that element of the travelogue and was intrigued by his experiences. Also of interest were his travels along what was the Taurus Express--the rail line that ran between Istanbul and Baghdad. These now mainly muslim countries that still held so much evidence of the imperialist occupation by European countries were of great interest to read about--especially given that many of those countries are not safe to travel. Christie's remarkably brave trek from London to Baghdad as a lone female in 1928 was equalled by Eames' much more hazardous trip on the brink of a major war.

A travelogue with insights into Christie's stories and should delight both armchair travelers and Ag

While not a mystery, dedicated fans of Agatha Christie's works won't want to miss Andrew Eames' The 8:55 To Baghdad: From London To Iraq On The Trail Of Agatha Christie: it's the perfect nonfiction accompaniment for Christie fans. In 1928 Christie was a thirty-something single mother who changed her mind from taking a Caribbean holiday and instead proceeded to Iraq. Eames followed her journeys, taking his own trip from London to Baghdad and describing the places and events which appeared in her fiction. What emerges blends a travelogue with insights into Christie's stories and should delight both armchair travelers and Agatha fans alike.

Remember When Baghdad Used to Sound Exotic?

Journalist Andrew Eames follows in the footsteps of Agatha Christie as he retraces her route from London to Baghdad on the Orient Express. Christie traveled to the Middle East many times and enjoyed her visits there. When she visited, before World War II, places such as Damascus and Cairo and even Baghdad evoked romantic and exotic images. Eames's journey takes place in 2003 when even Lawrence of Arabia might think twice about going. Eames sleeps through the European part of the trip, eager to get to the more challenging Belgrade and Serbia and beyond. On the way, he recalls what it would have been like in Christie's time and observes what it is like now. Sometimes, as in the London suburb where he begins the journey, not much has changed. Often, as in Belgrade and certainly Baghdad, things are much different. 8:55 to Baghdad hurtles from familiar to exotic to frightening and back again. When things start to get too gritty and real in Serbia, Eames takes us back to the days of luxury aboard the Orient Express. When the company of pre-WWII upper class snobs threatens to become boring, we are whisked onto a bus to cross the border into Iraq on the eve of war in 2003. All along the way, Eames recalls Christie's career and her life. She enjoyed accompanying her archaeologist husband to the Middle East and didn't mind roughing it from time to time. Roughing it back then meant camping out at a dig in the desert without running water. Roughing it in Baghdad in 2003 meant dodging bombs. Even if you are not a Christie fan, there is a lot to enjoy in this narrative. The Orient Express, archaeology, modern history, travel essay, it's all here. It reminds me of Beyond the Blue Horizon by Alexander Frater, another British writer. In it, Frater sets out to travel around the world using only routes that Imperial Airways would have flown. Imperial Airways was the pre-WWII airline of the British Empire, so that meant Frater had to do a lot of puddle-jumping on small propeller-driven airplanes in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Both he and Andrew Eames mix past and present to come up with unique and memorable travel stories.

Perfect holiday read

This book is a real treat. A journey by train all the way from London to Baghdad, just before the invasion of Iraq. In the footsteps of Agatha Christie. At first sight it seems an odd mix of travel adventure and literary biography, and it does change pace regularly, just like the trains Eames travels with. But there are some real insights in here, and some great pieces of observational writing. I particularly liked the bits in Slovenia and Serbia, and of course the final bus trip across the desert to Baghdad. Highly recommended.