Murder on the Orient Express

Dust-jacket illustration of the first UK edition
Author	Agatha Christie
Cover artist	Not known
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Crime novel
Publisher	Collins Crime Club
Publication date	January 1934
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	256 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	The Hound of Death
Followed by	Unfinished Portrait

Murder on the Orient Express is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in January 1934, in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company and later in the same year under the title of Murder in the Calais Coach. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence. The book features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Murder on the Orient Express may refer to: Murder on the Orient Express, novel Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film) Murder on the Orient Express (2001 film) Category: ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), commonly known as Agatha Christie, was an English crime fiction writer. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Sherlock Holmes, pipe-puffing hero of crime fiction, confers with his colleague Dr. Watson; together these characters popularized the genre. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... The Collins Crime Club was an imprint of UK book publishers William Collins & Co Ltd and ran from May 1930 to April 1994. ... See also: 1933 in literature, other events of 1934, 1935 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Hardcover books A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper, or sometimes leather). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN redirects here. ... The Hound of Death (1933) is a collection of twelve short stories by Agatha Christie. ... Unfinished Portrait (published in 1934) is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Agatha Christie. ... Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), commonly known as Agatha Christie, was an English crime fiction writer. ... The Collins Crime Club was an imprint of UK book publishers William Collins & Co Ltd and ran from May 1930 to April 1994. ... See also: 1933 in literature, other events of 1934, 1935 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Frank Howard Dodd, (1844-1916), was the leading publisher at Dodd, Mead and Company of New York City from 1870 until his death, January 16, 1916. ... The shilling was a British coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first shilling. ... Obverses of the 1787 and 1818 sixpence depicting George III. The sixpence, known colloquially as the tanner, was a British pre-decimal coin, worth, as the name indicates, six pence. ... David Suchet as Hercule Poirot in The Dream Hercule Poirot (pronounced in english ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. ...

Characters

(Many of these characters are discovered to have secret identities.)

The Victim:

• Mr. Ratchett, an unsavory-looking man with a dark secret.

The thirteen suspects:

• Hector McQueen, a tall, handsome, young American man, the victim's secretary and translator.
• Edward Henry Masterman, the victim's British valet.
• Pierre Michel, the French conductor of the Calais coach.
• Mary Debenham, a tall, dark, young British woman, working as a governess in Baghdad.
• Colonel Arbuthnot, a tall British army officer returning from India.
• Princess Natalia Dragomiroff, an elderly and very ugly Russian grande dame.
• Hildegarde Schmidt, a middle-aged German woman, the Princess' lady's maid.
• Count Rudolf Andrenyi, a tall, dark Hungarian diplomat with English manner and clothing, travelling to France.
• Countess Helena Andrenyi, his pale young wife.
• Greta Ohlsson, a middle-aged blonde Swedish missionary returning home for a vacation.
• Mrs. Caroline Martha Hubbard, a plump, elderly, very excitable American returning from a visit to her daughter, a teacher in Baghdad.
• Antonio Foscarelli, a portly and exuberant Italian businessman.
• Cyrus Hardman, a large and gregarious Texan typewriter ribbon salesman.

Other main characters (known to the reader to be uninvolved in the crime): This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ...

• The Detective - Hercule Poirot
• The Director - M. Bouc
• The Doctor - Dr. Constantine

David Suchet as Hercule Poirot in The Dream Hercule Poirot (pronounced in english ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. ...

Plot summary

Returning from an important case in Syria, Hercule Poirot boards the Orient Express in Istanbul. The train is unusually crowded for the time of year and Poirot is only able to secure a spot with the help of his friend Mr. Bouc, the director of the Express. When a Mr. Harris fails to show up, Poirot takes his place, to the surprise of his new roommate Mr. McQueen. However, the second night Poirot receives his own room. On the second night out from Istanbul at about 23 minutes before 1:00 am. Poirot wakes to the sound of a loud groan that seemed to come from the room next to his, belonging to Mr. Ratchett. When Poirot peeks out his door, he sees the conductor knock on Mr. Ratchett's door and ask if he is okay. Mr. Ratchett replies in French that he is fine, and the conductor moves on to answer a bell down the hall. Poirot decides to go back to bed but he is disturbed by the fact that the train is unusually still and his mouth is dry. As he lies awake, he hears Mrs. Hubbard ringing the bell urgently. When Poirot then rings the conductor for a glass of water, he learns about Mrs. Hubbard's paranoia about someone in her cabin. He also finds out that the train has been stopped due to a snowstorm. Poirot dismisses the conductor and attempts retire only to be awoken again by a thud on his door. This time when Poirot gets up and looks out of his room, the corridor is completely silent and he sees nothing except for the back of a woman in a scarlet kimono retreating down the hall in the distance. The next day he awakes to find that Mr. Ratchett has been stabbed 12 times in his sleep. However, the clues and circumstances are very mysterious. Some of the stab wounds are very deep and some are glancing blows. Furthermore, some of them appear to be inflicted by a right-handed person and some of them appear to be inflicted by a left-handed person. Poirot finds several more clues in the victim's cabin and on board the coach, including a linen handkerchief with the letter H on it, a pipe cleaner, and a button from a conductor's uniform. All of these clues suggest that the murderer or murderers were somewhat sloppy. However, each clue seemingly points to different suspects, which suggests that some of the clues were planted. Poster advertising the Orient Express Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. ...

By reconstructing some bits of a burned letter, Poirot soon discovers that Mr. Ratchett was a notorious fugitive from the U.S. named Cassetti. Some years earlier, Cassetti had kidnapped three-year-old heiress, Daisy Armstrong. Though the Armstrong family paid a large ransom for Daisy's release, Cassetti murdered the little girl regardless and fled the country with the money. Daisy's mother, Sonia Armstrong, was pregnant when she heard of Daisy's death. Her child died prematurely. She herself died as a result of the shock. Her husband, Col. Armstrong shot himself out of grief. Daisy's maid, Susanne, was suspected by the police, despite her hysterics. She threw herself out of the window and died.

One of the crucial clues comes before Poirot even boards the Orient Express. He over hears a conversation between Miss. Debenham and Colonel Arbuthnot on a previous train, where the Colonel addresses her as "Mary," and she replies, "Not now. When its all over when its behind us then." Then when the same train is delayed five minutes on its way to Istanbul Miss Debenham gets very upset about the delay, but later she is unconcerned when the Orient Express itself is delayed for a much longer time period.

As the evidence mounts, it continues to point in wildly different directions and it appears that Poirot is being challenged by a master mind. A critical piece of missing evidence, the scarlet kimono worn the night of the murder by an unknown woman — turns up in Poirot's own luggage. Poirot discovers that some passengers had a connection to the victim, while other's have connections to the Armstrong family. After meditating on the evidence for some time, Poirot assembles the thirteen suspects, plus Mr. Bouc and Dr. Constantine, in the restaurant car where he lays out two possible explanations of Ratchett's murder. A traditional wedding kimono The kimono literally something worn) is the national costume of Japan. ...

Note: The Armstrong case was based on the actual kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's son. Charles Augustus Lindbergh (4 February 1902 – 26 August 1974), known as Lucky Lindy and The Lone Eagle, was an American pilot famous for the first solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic, from Roosevelt Field, Long Island to Paris in 1927 in the Spirit of St. ...

Denouement

In the first scenario, explains Poirot, a stranger entered the train during the previous stop at Vincovci, murdered Ratchett for reasons unknown, and escaped unnoticed. The crime occurred an hour earlier than everyone believed owing to the victim and several others failing to note that the train had just crossed time zones. The other noises heard by Poirot on the coach that evening were unrelated to the murder. [[Image: Vinkovci (Croatia) |250px|none|]] Coordinates: Country  Croatia County Vukovar-Srijem Government  - Mayor Mladen Karlić (HDZ) Elevation 90 m (295. ... Timezone and TimeZone redirect here. ...

In the second scenario, Poirot explains painstakingly, all of the suspects were guilty, as there was no other way the murder could have taken place under the evidence. Poirot reveals that the other passengers, most of whom were traveling under assumed names, were in fact members of the extended Armstrong family, or had a very close tie to the family or its servants. All had been gravely wounded by Daisy's murder. They took it into their own hands to serve as Cassetti's executioners to avenge a crime the law was unable to punish. Each of the suspects stabbed Ratchett once, so that no one could know who delivered the fatal blow. Twelve of the conspirators participated to allow for a "12-person jury", with only Countess Andrenyi not participating as she would have been the most likely suspect (as Daisy's aunt). One extra berth was booked under a fictitious name (the cabin next to Ratchett was already reserved for a director of the company) so no one other than the conspirators and the victim would be on the train that night. The unexpected stoppage in the snowbank, and the fact that the carriage company had allowed the famous Poirot to sleep in the cabin that had been reserved for the fictitious person, caused complications to the conspirators that resulted in several crucial clues being left behind. As Poirot reveals the details of the elaborate plot, many of the suspects (among them Daisy's aunt and grandmother) break down in tears.

Poirot agrees to let Dr. Constantine and M.Bouc decide which of his two theories is correct. After a brief pause, both state softly that the first explanation seems far the more plausible, and is the one they will give to the police when the freed train reaches the next station. The thirteen suspects are allowed to walk free, and the true circumstances of Ratchett's death presumably remain secret to the public forever.

Literary significance and reception

The Times Literary Supplement of January 11, 1934 outlined the plot and concluded that "The little grey cells solve once more the seemingly insoluble. Mrs Christie makes an improbable tale very real, and keeps her readers enthralled and guessing to the end." The Times Literary Supplement (or TLS) is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. ...

Robert Barnard: "The best of the railway stories. The Orient Express, snowed up in Yugoslavia, provides the ideal 'closed' set-up for a classic-style exercise in detection, as well as an excuse for an international cast-list. Contains my favourite line in all Christie: 'Poor creature', she's a Swede.' Impeccably clued, with a clever use of the Cyrillic alphabet (cf. The Double Clue). The solution raised the ire of Raymond Chandler, but won't bother anyone who doesn't insist his detective fiction mirror real-life crime."^[1] Robert Barnard (born November 23, 1936} is a mystery writer, critic and lecturer. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (pronounced also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is actually a family of alphabets, subsets of which are used by certain Slavic languages — Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, and Ukrainian—as well as many other languages of the former Soviet Union... Poirots Early Cases is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie late in her career. ... For other persons named Raymond Chandler, see Raymond Chandler (disambiguation). ...

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

• The book was made into a 1974 movie entitled Murder on the Orient Express starring Albert Finney as Poirot, with Ingrid Bergman receiving her third Academy Award, as best supporting actress in the role of the Swedish missionary Greta Ohlsson.
• Murder on the Orient Express is a made-for-television film was first aired in 2001.
• David Suchet will star as Poirot in an upcoming adaptation as part of the ongoing Agatha Christie's Poirot series in late 2008.

Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 feature film directed by Sidney Lumet and based on the 1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. ... Albert Finney (born May 9, 1936 in Salford, Lancashire, England) is a five-time Academy Award-nominated English actor of Irish descent. ...   (pronounced in Swedish, but usually in English, IPA notation) (August 29, 1915 – August 29, 1982) was a three-time Academy Award-winning and two-time Emmy Award-winning Swedish actress. ... Murder on the Orient Express is a 2001 made-for-television movie, based on the 1934 novel by Agatha Christie, featuring Hercule Poirot. ... David Suchet OBE (born May 2, 1946) is an English actor best known for his television portrayal of Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot in the television series Agatha Christies Poirot. ... Agatha Christies Poirot (U.S. title Poirot) is a popular British television series starring David Suchet as Agatha Christies detective character Hercule Poirot. ...

Publishing history

• 1934, Collins Crime Club (London), January 1934, Hardback, 256 pp
• 1934, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), 1934, Hardback, 302 pp
• 2004, USA, Berkley Publishing (ISBN 0-425-20045-0), Pub date ? Sep 2004, mass market paperback
• 2006, UK, HarperCollins (ISBN 0-7921-0484-6), Pub date 4 Sep 2006, hardcover

The book was first serialized in the US in the Saturday Evening Post, from July 1 to September 30, 1933. There have been many publications called the Saturday Evening Post; several were/are local British newspapers. ...

Video game

• On November 21, 2006, The Adventure Company released a PC adaptation of the book. The game starred David Suchet as the voice of Hercule Poirot.

The Adventure Company, a branch of DreamCatcher Interactive, is a major publisher of adventure games. ... David Suchet OBE (born May 2, 1946) is an English actor best known for his television portrayal of Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot in the television series Agatha Christies Poirot. ...

Comic strip

Murder on the Orient Express was released by HarperCollins as a comic strip adaptation on July 16, 2007, adapted by Francois Riviere and illustrated by Solidor (Jean-François Miniac). This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The Solidor was a German automobile manufactured in Berlin from 1905 until 1907. ... Jean François Miniac, better known under his pen name Solidor, is a French comic book creator (writer and artist), born in Paris, France. ...

External links

• http://www.all-about-agatha-christie.com/murder-on-the-orient-express.html
• Spark Notes for the book
• Official Website for PC Game

References