They Came to Baghdad (1951)

Originally published in 1951, THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD reflects popular concerns of the time about whether another World War was brewing.

He said grumblingly, ‘All right, all right…Get back as soon as you can. I’ve never seen the market so jumpy. All this damned Communism. War may break out at any moment. It’s the only solution, I sometimes think. The whole country’s riddled with it – riddled with it.

And now the President’s determined to go to this fool conference at Baghdad. It’s a put-up job in my opinion. They’re out to get him. Baghdad! Of all the outlandish places!’

‘Oh I’m sure he’ll be very well guarded,’ Miss Scheele said soothingly.

‘They got the Shah of Persia last year, didn’t they? They got Bernadotte in Palestine. It’s madness – that’s what it is – madness. ‘But then,’ added Mr Morganthal heavily, ‘all the world is mad.’

While the main protagonists appear to be the USA and Communist Russia, those engineering the war are quite a different group again:

‘I know everybody says there’s going to be another war sooner or later,’ said Victoria.

‘Exactly,’ said Mr Dakin. ‘Why does everybody say so, Victoria?’

She frowned. ‘Why, because Russia – the Communists – America –’ she stopped.

‘You see,’ said Dakin. ‘Those aren’t your own opinions or words. They’re picked up from newspapers and casual talk, and the wireless. There are two divergent points of view dominating different parts of the world, that is true enough. And they are represented loosely in the public mind as “Russia and the Communists” and “America”. Now the only hope for the future, Victoria, lies in peace, in production, in constructive activities and not destructive ones.

Therefore everything depends on those who hold those two divergent viewpoints, either agreeing to differ and each contenting themselves with their respective spheres of activity, or else finding a mutual basis for agreement, or at least toleration. Instead of that, the opposite is happening, a wedge is being driven in the whole time to force two mutually suspicious groups farther and farther apart. Certain things led one or two people to believe that this activity comes from a third party or group working under cover and so far absolutely unsuspected by the world at large. Whenever there is a chance of agreement being reached or any sign of dispersal of suspicion, some incident occurs to plunge one side back in distrust, or the other side into definite hysterical fear.

The central character/heroine Victoria Jones, who turns out to be a superb detective, never appears in another Christie novel. In tone and theme this novel is reminiscent of those that featured Tommy and Tuppence. It also reflects a theme that appears elsewhere, the idea of an evil force that is controlling world events.

As Wikipedia says "The book was inspired by Christie's own trips to Baghdad with her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, and is also one of few Christie novels belonging to the action and spy drama genres.."

It is very clear that much of the description of the journey to Baghdad and what happens on an archaeological dig comes from Christie's own experience. In this e-version of THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD we also have a segment from Christie's Autobiography, begun in 1950 when she was in Iraq.

I don't think this is one of Christie's best . The tone is probably closer to the novels of the 20s and 30s, and there was a little too much melodrama and romance in it for my taste. But it reminds us how anxious people must have been in 1950.

1949 China became Communist and Russia demonstrated an Atomic Bomb
1950 the Korean war began, Senator McCarthy begins the Communist Witchhunt in the USA and President Truman orders the construction of the hydrogen bomb ( )

An enjoyable read and a competent, if somewhat stylized spy thriller. I found Victoria’s character to be distinctive and I liked reading about how she was jerked from one situation to another. Unfortunately by dint of time, the rest of the book is pretty familiar. To anyone who has read other spy novels, the guilty party will be obvious. Despite that I liked the book. The characters are deliciously Christie; daft archaeologist, gossipy matron, spiteful female rival, crusty soldier, smarmy hotelier, red-herring villain, trustworthy spymaster – they’re none too original, but a lot of fun. The setting was interesting because now we’ve got such a different situation over there in Iran, Iraq and Kuwait and it was engaging to mull over the changes. ( )

Victoria Jones is a somewhat impulsive but sharp minded (although reckless is, I think, more accurate description) young woman. After meeting mysterious young man she decides to follow him to his new work-place, distant Baghdad. At the same time, world leaders are planning a secret meeting in Baghdad and a shady world organization is planning to stop the meeting and sow discord among polarized states (after all we are talking 1950’s here). Of course, Victoria Jones ends up in the middle of this cloak-and-dagger war.

To be honest, I never expected Agatha Christie to write a spy novel, let alone James Bond-like novel but with this one she proved that she can write whatever she likes.

Story drags a little bit from time to time, but again I take this as a mark of the time novel was written. Nevertheless book has a very interesting story and heroine.

Give it a shot, you will not be disappointed.

Recommended. ( )

I read this about a year ago and the details are a little hazy. What I remember is there is a spunky heroine and archeological details; Ms. Christie was married to an archeologist.

See some of Elizabeth Peters' Ameiia Peabody mysteries for another spunky heroine; e.g., Crocodile on the Sandback. ( )

This book is by no means Christie's best, but I first read it when I was 13 and I am sentimentally attached to it. It seems to have become very relevant, given the war in Iraq and I love reading about the country before GWB and, indeed, Saddam. The actual plot is far fetched and rather silly, but the archaeological scenes are brilliant and the local color is interesting. There is also a pretty good romance. ( )