Murder on the Orient Express The story's first true publication was the US serialisation in six instalments in the "Saturday Evening Post" from 30 September to 4 November 1933 (Volume 206, Numbers 14 to 19). The title was "Murder in the Calais Coach", and it was illustrated by William C. Hoople. The UK serialisation appeared after book publication, appearing in three instalments in the "Grand Magazine", in March, April, and May 1934 (Issues 349 to 351). This version was abridged from the book version (losing some 25% of the text), was without chapter divisions, and named the Russian princess as Dragiloff instead of Dragomiroff. Advertisements
Murder on the Orient Express Murder". In December 2014, the novel was included in "Entertainment Weekly"'s list of the Nine Great Christie Novels. The kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's son in 1932 inspired that element in Christie’s novel two years later. An innocent, but perhaps loose-lipped, maid employed by Lindbergh's parents was suspected of involvement in the crime. After being harshly interrogated by police, she committed suicide. Two less notable events helped inspire her novel: Agatha Christie’s first journey on the Orient Express in late 1928, and a blizzard near Cherkeskoy, Turkey, that marooned an Orient Express for six days just a few months