''Stamboul Train'' is the classic 1932 espionage thriller by Graham Greene. It was his first major commercial success. He categorized it as the first of his "entertainments"-fast-paced, suspenseful thrillers that maintained his signature moral complexity and depth.
The narrative tracks a diverse group of passengers traveling aboard the luxurious Orient Express on a three-day journey from Ostend, Belgium, to Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey. As the train speeds across a snowy, politically tense Europe, the characters' individual lives collide. A routine train ride quickly devolves into a dangerous web of political uprising, international espionage, and murder.
The immense popularity of the book saved Greene from financial ruin early in his career. It was adapted into a Hollywood film titled Orient Express by Fox Film Corporation in 1934, making it the very first of Greene's novels to hit the silver screen.
