And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None

(American Title: Ten Little Indians)

Ten people lured to a secluded island and stranded there, then stalked and murdered, one by one—and each one meets his death according to a children’s rhyme:

Ten little Indians went out to dine
One choked his little self and then there were nine

Nine little Indians stayed up too late
One overslept himself and then there were eight

Eight little Indians going to Devon
One decided to stay there and then there were seven

Seven little Indians chopping up sticks
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six

Six little Indians playing with a hive
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five

Five little Indians went in for law
One went to Chancery and then there were four

Four little Indians playing by the sea
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three

Three little Indians went to the zoo
A big bear hugged one and then there were two

Two little Indians out in the sun
One got all fizzled up and then there was one

One little Indian left all alone
He went and hung himself and then there were none

Spoilers ahead! Scroll down for full spoilers of this book.

Spoilers

The key to the book is that the 10 people were all murderers who hadn’t been prosecuted for their crimes:

Anthony Mardsen. Ran over two children while driving recklessly. He was fined for manslaughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. Murdered an elderly woman under their care by withholding her medicine.

Colonel MacArthur. Sent his wife’s lover on a suicide mission during the war.

Miss Emily Brent. Turned out her pregnant maidservant, who, with nowhere else to go, drown herself.

Judge Wargrave. Sentenced a man thought by some to be innocent to the gallows.

Dr. Armstrong. Operated on a woman while drunk and killed her.

Henry Blore. Gave false evidence in a trial that resulted in an innocent man being sentenced to prison, where he died of pneumonia.

Philip Lombard. Lost in the wilderness with a group of explorers, took all the provisions and abandoned the group, who all died of starvation.

Vera Claythorne. Allowed her young charge to swim out too far into the ocean so he would drown.

The person who planned and executed a death sentence on all these people was Judge Wargrave. As he says in his confession (thrown out to sea in a bottle), he was the only person who was innocent—because the young man he sentenced to the gallows was in fact guilty—therefore it stands to reason that he was the murderer.

My Thoughts About This Book

This is probably the best-known Agatha Christie book. Maybe also the best liked. I think it’s definitely the most scary of her books—to think of these people stranded on an island, all watching each other, knowing anyone could be next, is very creepy! The characters are well-done, as usual; it’s fascinating to watch how each character responds to the stress and fear of the situation.

I read someone’s review of this book that complained there weren’t enough clues for the reader to solve the mystery. I disagree. Wargrave in his confession outlines the clues that might have led police to a solution, and these clues were all apparent as you read. (If you didn’t notice or give weight to the clues, join the club!) My only dissatisfaction is with Wargrave’s suicide. I have to wonder if it would go as smoothly as he planned—i.e., the revolver shot killed him without getting blood everywhere, the elastic glasses cord pulled the revolver out of his hand as he expected, etc. I guess I can imagine the police finding Wargrave’s bed and cover sheet drenched in blood, with the revolver still in his hand. Easy enough to see that he shot himself and thereby unravel the whole thing.

All in all, though, this book deserves its popularity. It’s a book that’s hard to put down.

Hillary's rating:

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