Why a Booktrail?
1928: The third in the Agatha Christie inspired mysteries starring the great lady herself
Death in a Desert Land
What you need to know before your trail
Baghdad, 1928. Agatha leaves England for the far-flung destination, determined to investigate an unresolved mystery: two year ago, the explorer and the writer Gertrude Bell died there from a drugs overdose. At the time, the authorities believed that Bell had taken her own life, but a letter now unearthed reveals she was afraid someone wants to kill her…
In her letter, Bell suggests that if she were to die the best place to look for her murderer would be Ur, the archaeological site in ancient Mesopotamia famous for its Great Death Pit.
But as Agatha stealthily begins to look into the death of Gertrude Bell, she soon discovers the mission is not without its risks. And she has to use all her skills to try and outwit a killer who is determined to stay hidden among the desert sands…
Travel Guide
Travel BookTrail style to Agatha Christie’s Ur and Baghdad
The events in this novel are a mix of fact and fiction and are said to have inspired the Agatha Christie novel Murder in Mesopotamia
Baghdad
The main setting for the novel and where Agatha travels to in order to visit some sites and discovers the death of Gertrude Lowthian Bell. This lady was an explorer and writer and helped to found the state of modern day Iraq. The letters which open the novel are fictional yet they do contain truths about her death and the subsequent conspiracy theories.
Ur
The main setting of the archaeological discoveries and where Getrude was working before her death.
This is where Agatha Christie met Leonard and Katherine Wolley which she credits in her book The Thirteen Problems. It’s also where she met her husband Max Mallowan. Leonard had led an expedition to Ur organised by the British Museum. This is where now you can see many of the finds from the site and the expedition.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Death in a Desert Land
Destination: Baghdad, Ur Author/guide: Andrew Wilson Departure: 1928
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