When British journalist Andrew Eames set off from a London suburb to Baghdad via train in 2002, he wasn’t merely following in the tracks of Paul Theroux and Michael Palin, he was tracing the life-changing journey of one of the world’s most beloved writers. His book, The 8:55 to Baghdad: From London to Iraq on the Trail of Agatha Christie, is part Christie biography, part travelogue and part history of the many regions through which Eames and his famous fore-traveler pass en route to the Middle East.
In 1928, with her daughter away in boarding school, the 38-year-old divorcŽe set off for Baghdad, lured by the Orient Express and the tales of her dinner companions. Iraq was a British protectorate at that time and fairly crawling with expats; nevertheless, with stops like Trieste ( the last full stop in western Europe before the alphabets begin to change ), Belgrade, Zagreb, Istanbul, Aleppo, Damascus and Ur, this was not a journey for the trepid. Christie coped well, falling in love with both the scenery and her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan.
The two would later buy a house in Iraq, living a lifestyle reminiscent of Karen Blixen’s in Kenya, in which Christie dressed for dinner and instructed her cooks in producing Žclairs made with cream from water-buffalo milk. She also acquired a knowledge of ancient pottery, dispensed medicines to the locals and became an accomplished photographer chronicling her husband’s digs. For her fans, however, the most important outcome from her Middle Eastern adventures was the inspiration to write stories like A Murder in Mesopotamia and Murder on the Orient Express.
The history of that train is just one of the topics covered in The 8:55 to Baghdad, which means the book sometimes feels like it’s veering off the tracks. For the most part, however, Eames is able to connect the disparate elements for a smooth-flowing narrative. By journey’s end, he’s made insightful comments on the changing fortunes of countries once under European imperial rule, tracked down people who knew Christie and managed to get out of Baghdad just as the war starts.
