Orient Express: The Legend of Travel, published by Assouline, is a photographic guide to the history and intrigue surrounding this mythic train. At the height of its success, the Orient Express was the most popular mode of transport for Europe’s upper-crust. International icons including Marlene Dietrich and Grace Kelly have slept in its opulent carriages, while writers such as Hemingway and Agatha Christie have used the train as inspiration when scheming their romantic sagas.
Christie was a particular fan and took more than sixty trips. “The Orient Express is undoubtedly my favourite train,” she once said. “I like its tempo, which begins with an allegro con furore – the train shakes, crackles and launches in every direction in its mad hurry to leave Calais and the West – and gradually becomes rallentando while continuing on its route to the Orient before indisputably opting for legato.” Christie, a musician, often wrote rhythmic intrigues. In fact, she met her second husband on board the Orient Express, and fondly spent her honeymoon there.
