Murder on the Orient Express

 

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie is a classic detective story set in 1934 with the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The story was inspired by the real life Lindbergh baby kidnapping March 1, 1932. Charles Lindbergh (a Minnesotan who made the first nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris) and Anne Morrow Lindbergh's (The Gift of the Sea) toddler was taken from his nursery for ransom. He was subsequently found partially buried two months later. The result of the kidnapping was Congress passed a federal kidnapping statute making interstate kidnapping a federal crime. 

​

The play starts at a hotel in Istanbul as passengers prepare for their journey on the Orient Express. The Orient Express was a luxury long distance train that connected Western Europe to Istanbul from 1883-2009. It sets the scene for this murder as it did get stuck in the Alps in the winter storms.

​

Now you know the background, sit back and enjoy trying to solve this mystery with Hercule Poirot.