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And Then There Were None
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And Then There Were None (1939) (edit title/settings)

by Agatha Christie (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Alternate title: Ten Little Indians

Ten people, each with something to hide, are invited to a lonely mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but one another and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives.... read more

Summary edit see section history

Eight people arrive at a mansion on Soldier Island (N*gger Island in the original UK version and Indian Island in the US version), located off the cost of Devon, England. Upon their arrival, their hosts, Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen, are nowhere to be found, but are attended to by the also newly... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Eight people arrive at a mansion on Soldier Island (N*gger Island in the original UK version and Indian Island in the US version), located off the cost of Devon, England. Upon their arrival, their hosts, Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen, are nowhere to be found, but are attended to by the also newly arrived servants, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. As they settle into their rooms, they discover a framed copy of a nursery poem titled "Ten Little Soldiers" ("N*ggers" or "Soldiers" in previous editions).

That night at dinner, Mr. Rogers was instructed by a note to play a record on the gramophone, which details crimes the ten guests are accused of having committed. Each person present acknowledges some truth to the accusations, but refuses to admit culpability for the acts mentioned. Some of the guests express their intention to leave, but Mr. Rogers explains that the island is cut off from the mainland and a boat is not scheduled to arrive until the following morning. The guests decide to settle in for the night, and, during their conversations Anthony Marston, one of the guests, dies from cyanide poisoning, mimicking the first line in the nursery rhyme "one choked his little self." While cleaning up the super dishes, Mr. Rogers notices the one of the ten soldier figurines in the center of the dining room table has disappeared, correlating with Marston's death.

The next morning the guests are awaken by the news that Mrs. Rogers died during the night after being given a sleeping medicine by Dr. Armstrong, in accordance with the second verse of the nursery rhyme "one overslept himself." General MacArthur predicts that none of them will leave the island alive and, prophetically, is the next to die, being found dead overlooking the sea, again, according to the rhyme "one said he'd stay there." Mr. Rogers notices that, as the guests continue to die under mysterious circumstances, the figurines in the dining room also continue to disappear. In a panic, several of the remaining guests insist on searching the island for the killer they are sure is on the loose. Justice Magrave insists that one of them must be the murderer and is playing a game with the guests. He points out their mysterious host's name, U.N. Owen, being a homonym for Unknown.

The guests nervously go to bed that night and awake the next morning to discover that Mr. Rogers has been killed by an axe blow to the back of the head, "one chopped himself in halves" and another figurine is missing. That afternoon, before tea, Emily Brent is killed by a cyanide injection via a hypodermic needle in her neck ("a bumblebee stung one"), while a bee buzzes around the room and the figurine lies on the ground outside of the dining room window.

The remaining guest grow increasingly frightened and decide to lock up any remaining weapons in the house, including Justice Wargrave's sleeping pills, Dr. Armstrong's medical supplies, and Philip Lombard's gun, which has gone missing. They decide to stay together all day and only one person leaves at a time. Vera decides to go upstairs to her room to find seaweed hanging from the ceiling, reminding her of the accusations leveled against her by the gramophone earlier in the weekend. Her terrified screams bring Lombard, Blore, and Dr. Armstrong running to her aid. Realizing that Justice Wargrave did not follow them upstairs, they return to the drawing room to find him dead from a bullet wound to the forehead, dressed in judges robes and a wig, according to the nursery rhyme, "one got into Chancery." Dr. Armstrong confirms his death and his body is placed in his room, covered with a sheet. The four remaining guests retire to their rooms for another night on the island. Lombard opens his nightstand drawer and discovers that his revolver has been returned.

That night Blore believes he hears someone outside his door. Upon investigating, he believes he sees someone leaving the house. He wakes Lombard and they discover Dr. Armstrong missing. Believing that he must be the killer, they wake Vera and the three of them spend the rest of the night outside. In the morning, Blore decides to return to the house for food and never returns. Vera and Lombard discover his body under Vera's bedroom window, his skull crushed from the bear-shaped clock that sat on the mantle in Vera's bedroom, in accordance with the rhyme, "a big bear hugged one." Vera and Lombard then discover Dr. Armstrong's body washed up on the shore of the island, clearly drowned ("a red herring swallowed one"). Believing that he must be the murderer, Vera feigns a moment of weakness and takes the opportunity to steal Lobard's gun. She shoots him through the heart while on the beach ("sitting in the sun") and then, in an altered mental state, she proceeds back to her room where a hangman's rope awaits her ("went out and hanged himself").

Later, the Scotland Yard inspector in charge of the case, Inspector Maine, discusses the Soldier Island mystery with his Assistant Commissioner, Thomas Legge. He explains that there were no clues on the island, and the purchaser, Mr. U. N. Owen, covered his tracks impeccably, even ensuring the death of the man who arranged the purchase of the island. Based on diary entries and forensic evidence, they can't quite make out the order of deaths of Dr. Armstrong, Mr. Blore, Phillip Lombard, and Vera Claythorne. All of the evidence points to someone being alive on the island after their deaths, but the diary entries clearly list them as the last four individuals alive on the island.

A fishing trawler off the Devon coast discovers a bottle and inside, a confession. Justice Wargrave admits to having a sadistic temper and wanting to hurt people but never being able to bring himself to causing harm to an innocent person. After discovering that he was terminally ill, he decided to try to murder someone he thought was deserving of death. But he didn't want just any death. He wanted to inspire fear in his victims. He executed his plan, leaving those whom he considered to have committed the worst crimes to die last, reveling in their terror.

Wargrave convinced Dr. Armstrong to help him fake his death so that he could "better investigate" the others. That night he arranged to meet Dr. Armstrong by the coast, where he threw him onto the rocks to drown below. After killing Blore the next day, he watched as Vera killed Lombard and proceeded to hang herself. After pushing her chair back against the wall, he returned to his room and rigged a contraption which would allow him to shoot himself without handling the gun and, when the police arrived, they would find ten dead bodies and an "unsolvable" mystery on Soldier Island.

Characters edit see section history

  • Justice Lawrence Wargrave: A retired judge, well known for his willingness to sentence those that are found guilty in his court to death. He is a highly intelligent old man, and his commanding presence makes him a natural leader for this group.
  • Vera Elizabeth Claythorne: A young teacher, secretary, and a former governess. She arrives on Soldier Island, believing she has accepted a job as Mrs. Owen's secretary.
  • Phillip Lombard: A mercenary soldier in Africa. Down to his last few dollars, he comes to the island armed with a loaded revolver. He is a resourceful and confident man, and is far bolder and more intelligent than most of the other characters. He is reputed to be a "good man in a tight spot. Resembles a panther.
  • Emily Caroline Brent: An elderly woman with harsh moral absolutes. She is ruthlessly religious and uses her beliefs to justify her inability to show compassion or empathy to others
  • General John Gordon MacArthur: A retired World War I hero, he is the first to accept that no one will leave the island alive.
  • Dr. Edward George Armstrong: A gullible and slightly timid doctor, he is a popular physician to the London upper class. He comes to the island believing he has been hired for a medical consultation. He often draws the suspicion of the other guests because of his medical expertise.
  • Anthony James Marston: A handsome man, with a proportionate, curly hair, tanned face and blue eyes, known for driving recklessly. He was born into a wealthy family.
  • William Henry Blore: A retired police inspector, and now a private investigator, he is a well-built man whose experience often leads other to look to him for guidance. On the island, he acts boldly and often takes initiative, but also makes frequent blunders, constantly suspecting the wrong individuals.
  • Thomas Rogers: The butler and the husband of Mrs. Rogers. He remains the perfect servant to the end, even after his wife is found dead and it becomes clear there is a murderer on the island.
  • Isaac Morris: A mysterious agent
  • Sir Thomas Legge and Inspector Maine: Two Scotland Yard detectives who discuss the case in the epilogue
  • Fred Narracott: The boatman who delivers the guests to the island.
  • Ethel Rogers: The cook and the wife of Mr. Rogers. She is a frail, pale-faced woman who scares easily.
Show all 13 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “There was a silence - an comfortable replete silence. Into that silence came the Voice. Without warning, inhuman, penetrating..."Ladies and gentlemen! Silence please!...You are charged with the following indictments."”
    Mr. U.N. Owen
  • “Mr. Owen could only come to the island in one way. It is perfectly clear. Mr. Owen is one of us.”
    Justice Wargrave
  • “People don't like a Coroner's Inquest, even if the Coroner did acquit me of all blame!”
  • “Oh, yes. I've no doubt in my own mind that we have been invited here by a madman--probably a dangerous homicidal lunatic.”
  • “There is no question of defence. I have always acted in accordance with the dictates of my conscience. I have nothing with which to reproach myself.”
    Emily Brent
  • “The legal life's narrowing! I'm all for crime! Here's to it.”
  • “"I have an uncontrollably romantic imagination"”
    U.N. Owen

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Sticklehaven, Devon, England. 20th Century.
  • Soldier Island: A mysterious island. (This island called "Indian Island" in the 1940 US publication.)

First Sentence edit see section history

In the corner of a first-class smoking carriage,Mr. Justice Wargrave, lately retired from the bench, puffed at a cigar and ran an interested eye through the political news in the Times.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Chapters 1-16

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Justice: This novel examines the idea of justice by creating murder victims that are accused, in one way or another, of murder in their past themselves. It questions whether one person can sit in judgment of another if they themselves are not a good person. Also, there is the question of whether all of the guests were really guilty of the crimes of which they were accused (ex. Emily Brent). Christie suggests that bad behavior does not make someone a bad or immoral person and that good behavior does not make someone a good or moral person.
  • Guilt and Conscience: Christie examines the effects of guilt on the human conscience by making everyone guilty and describing their different reactions to their consciences.
  • Social Class Structure: Even as events begin to unfold on the island, the guests on the island still cling to their social structure and it dictates their behavior.
  • The "Ten Little Indians" poem: The "Ten Little Indians" poem provides the structure of the events in the novel. The poem is hung in every room and figurines from the poem are in the dining room.
  • The Storm: Not only does the storm lend a convenient cover for the isolation of the guest on Indian Island, but it also mimics the violence being played out on the island. As the guests feel the first tinges of discomfort, the storm is beginning to roll in. By the time the storm hits, the guests are realizing the full extent of the situation in which they find themselves. The storm finally breaks the final morning of the novel.
  • Natural Justice: Natural Justice states that no immoral deed goes unpunished. When "revenge", punishment, retribution or justice is administered by God, some other supreme power (eg. Fate) or another person, natural justice is said to be administered. In legal terms natural justice has specific legal principles. The accused is given notice of their crimes and the case is heard in an unbiased fashion.
  • The Pain of Isolation: Not knowing what is happening to those around you and feeling constantly alone can cause serious issues for the human mind. This experience can create insanity and cause random acts of unexpected craziness.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Agatha Christie Non-Series Mystery Novels. (community list)
This is book 8 of 99 in NPR's Top 100 Killer Thriller. (community list)
This book is in Best Books of All Time. (community list)
This book is in Classic English Crime Novels. (community list)
This is book 10 of 100 in Top 100 Mysteries of All Time (Mystery Writers of America, 1995). (authoritative list)
This is book 41 of 74 in Agatha Christie - Luitingh-Sijthoff pockets. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 3 of 4 in Top Selling Books of All Time. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Agatha Christie (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Leonel Vallandro (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Colins Crime Club
Country: England
Publication Date: 6 November, 1939
ISBN: 978-0-06-207348-8
Page Count: 256

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PR6005 .H66 A84
  • Dewey: 823.912

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Classic detective story on the theme of justice. Some higher level themes. Violent.

Movie Connections edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Dead Man's Mirror
  • Photo Finish
  • The Tragedy of Z
  • Hallowe'en Party
  • The Case of the Counterfeit Eye
  • The Cat Who Played Post Office
  • The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
  • The Cat Who Turned On and Off
  • The Cat Who Saw Red
  • Tough Cookie
  • The Secret Adversary
  • The Case of the Perfect Maid
  • Murder on the Orient Express
  • The Innocence of Father Brown
  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
  • The Ivy Tree
  • Where Are You Now?

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • The Complete Christie
  • Everyman's Guide to the Mysteries of Agatha Christie
  • Agatha Christie: A Reader's Companion

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