And Then There Were None

Article written by Israel Njoku

Degree in M.C.M with focus on Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

‘And Then There Were None’ by Agatha Christie is one of the world’s best-selling mystery novels of all time. It chronicles an island getaway with eight guests and two servants and subsequently a series of deaths that follow the exact pattern of a nursery rhyme. ‘And Then There Were None‘ was originally published in 1939 in the United Kingdom under the title ‘Ten Little Niggers‘, but the US version published in 1940 changed the title to ‘And Then There Were None‘ and maintained this title in subsequent American reprints. Some other paperback versions were published as ‘Ten Little Indians.’ In 1985, however, ‘And Then There Were None‘ became the definitive title of the novel even in the United Kingdom, and all references to the word ‘nigger’ in the book were changed to ‘soldier.’ The novel remains in print after so many decades and has sold millions of copies across the world.

Key Facts about And Then There Were None

• Title: ‘And Then There Were None‘ (also ‘Ten Little Niggers‘ and ‘Ten Little Indians‘ in some versions)
• Original Title: ‘Ten Little Niggers‘
• Author: Agatha Christie
• Publication Year: First published in 1939 in the United Kingdom (US Version 1940)
• Original Language: English Language
• Setting: An exotic island in early 20th Century
• Antagonist: Justice Wargrave
• Climax: The fallout between Vera and Lombard

Agatha Christie and And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie is crowned the ‘Queen of Crime’, having eighty mystery books—sixty-six novels, fourteen short story collections—to her credit. Although she had written and published over forty novels and short story collections before ‘And Then There Were None,’ Christie still described it as the most difficult book for her to write. She claimed she was fascinated by the difficulty of effectively pulling off a plot where ten people would die mysteriously without it becoming ridiculous. Owing to this difficulty, the story went through several redrafts before she was finally ready to give it a go.

She originally intended to include twelve characters altogether on the island as opposed to the ten that were ultimately used. In the earlier drafts of the story, the crimes that were imputed to some of the characters were different from the ones that appeared in the published story. For instance, the character who eventually came out as Vera Claythorne originally pushed her lover into committing suicide; the character Emily Brent browbeat her servant into ingesting poison; while the character General MacArthur put thirty soldiers on the battlefield to die for an insensible reason.

During World War II, Agatha Christie adapted ‘And Then There Were None‘ from a novel into a play for stage performance. And to bring some relief from the sad realities of the war going on at the time, she decided to change the original bleak ending of the story to something happy and more optimistic, where the characters survive and fall in love. Producing the play version of ‘And Then There Were None‘ was difficult at first because most producers insisted that its storyline would not work on stage and that it would just end up being an object of mockery. But eventually, after so much effort, Christie was able to get hold of a producer who was willing to take a chance with it. Unfortunately, St James Theatre, the debut theatre for the said play version of the novel, ended up being bombed during World War II. Therefore, the play had to be transferred to another venue to continue its run.

Agatha Christie had a penchant for taking her book titles from children’s songs and nursery rhymes. Some examples are her novels ‘Five Little Pigs‘ and ‘One, Two, Buckle My Shoes‘ and she followed the same pattern in ‘And Then There Were None‘ whose title was derived from a counting rhyme. But in the case of ‘And Then There Were None,’ Christie took it further by making the rhyme a major plot element in the novel.

‘And Then There Were None‘ does not feature Christie’s popular detective characters, Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. It is one of her few standalone books but remains among her most famous and most loved books.

Books Related to And Then There Were None

While Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None‘ occupies an echelon of its own, there are other titles that are bound to entice readers who have a taste for outstanding mystery novels like it. Agatha Christie’s other titles like ‘Death on the Nile,’ ‘Murder on the Orient Express,’ ‘Peril at End House,’ and all her other mystery novels come highly recommended.

Other authors who might also impress lovers of Agatha Christie’s mystery include Lucy Foley with her mystery novel ‘The Guest List,’ Nancy Powell with her Christie-inspired young-adult novel ‘And Then There Were Four‘ and Soji Shimada’s Japanese classic ‘Murder in the Crooked House.’

Lasting Impact of And Then There Were None