Since no one else could have arrived or departed the island unassisted, they are forced to conclude that one of the seven remaining persons must be the killer. The guests suspect that U N Owen may be systematically murdering them and search the island, but find no hiding places. The guests realise that the nature of the deaths corresponds with the respective lines of the rhyme, and three of the figurines are found to be missing. The next morning, Mrs Rogers is found dead in her bed, and by lunchtime, General MacArthur has also died from a heavy blow to the head. Dr Armstrong confirms that there was no cyanide in the other drinks and suggests that Marston must have dosed himself. Marston finishes his drink and promptly dies of cyanide poisoning. The guests discover that none of them know the Owens, and Mr Justice Wargrave suggests that the name 'U N Owen' is a play on 'Unknown'. After supper, a phonograph record is played the recording accuses each visitor and Mr and Mrs Rogers of having committed murder, then asks if any of the 'prisoners at the bar' wishes to offer a defence. They are met by the butler and cook-housekeeper, Thomas and Ethel Rogers, who explain that their hosts, Ulick Norman Owen and Una Nancy Owen, have not yet arrived, though they have left instructions.Ī framed copy of an old rhyme hangs in every guest's room, and on the dining room table sit ten figurines. These details correspond to the text of the 1939 first edition.Įight people arrive on a small, isolated island off the Devon coast, each having received an unexpected personal invitation.

3.2 Correspondence between rhyme and modes of death.3.1 Current published version of the rhyme.The novel has been listed as the sixth best-selling title (any language, including reference works). The book is the world's best-selling mystery, and with over 100 million copies sold is one of the best-selling books of all time. UK editions continued to use the original title until 1985. Successive American reprints and adaptations use that title, though Pocket Books paperbacks used the title Ten Little Indians between 19.

The US edition was released in January 1940 with the title And Then There Were None, taken from the last five words of the song. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, as Ten Little Niggers, after the children's counting rhyme and minstrel song, which serves as a major plot element. And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write.

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