History Literature / AndThenThereWereNone

** In the Russian version, Vera also gets a scene in her black underwear, [[spoiler:which is followed by a [[ToplessnessFromTheBack bare back shot minutes later with Lombard...]] [[FanDisservice as he begins to rape her. Er, yeah...]]]]

But whatever its title, every serious mystery fan knows the novel's plot by heart: [[TenLittleMurderVictims ten people, strangers to one another (except one husband-and-wife pair), receive invitations to an island hideaway]], where a mysterious recording played for the group accuses each person of having caused another person's death. Sometime after the record is played, members of the group start dying off one by one, each in a manner similar to one from the well-known nursery rhyme ("Ten Little Niggers" in the original British edition, "Ten Little Indians" in many later editions, "Ten Little Soldiers" in current editions). Those still alive have no choice but to come to the only possible conclusion: one of them is murdering the others. Paranoia and suspicion run high, as each remaining person in the group tries to outwit the killer; who can be trusted, after all, when everyone around them is dying? And how long will it be before the next one dies?

The novel has been published under several different titles, as a direct result of ValuesDissonance. It was originally published in the UK as ''Ten Little Niggers'', which was not shocking in 1930s Britain. In the United States, [[DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch more sensitive publishers changed the title]] to ''And Then There Were None'',[[note]] keeping in line with its allusion to the minstrel song [[/note]] while several earlier foreign translations kept the original title, such as ''Dix petits nègres'' (in French) or ''Zehn kleine Negerlein'' (in German). The novel was also published in English as ''Ten Little Indians'' on both sides of the Atlantic until people eventually came to see that title as racist as well. In consequence, ''And Then There Were None'' has, more or less, become the official standardized title.

** The 2015 version also has a lesbian subtext with Emily and Beatrice Taylor. [[spoiler: When Beatrice accidentally pokes her finger with a knitting needle and draws blood, Emily pulls her hand to her mouth and sucks on the finger while staring at her. Um...Squick. Also falls under AdaptationalVillainy, as it seemingly adds another facet to why Emily callosly throws Beatrice out after finding out she's pregnant.]]

** The 1974 version ups the ante by having the taped voice be none other than Creator/OrsonWelles. The end credits also promote Welles' involvement heavily.]]

** The 2015 version also has a lesbian subtext with Emily and Beatrice Taylor. [[spoile: When Beatrice accidentally pokes her finger with a knitting needle and draws blood, Emily pulls her hand to her mouth and sucks on the finger while staring at her. Um...Squick. Also falls under AdaptationalVillainy, as it seemingly adds another facet to why Emily callosly throws Beatrice out after finding out she's pregnant.]]

** The 2015 version also has a lesbian subtext with Emily and Beatrice Taylor. [[when Beatrice accidentally pokes her figer with a knitting needle and draws blood, Emily pulls her hand to her mouth and sucks on the finger while staring at her. Um...Squick. Also falls under AdaptationalVillany, as it seemingly adds another facet to why Emily callosly throws Beatrice out after finding out she's pregnant.]]

The novel has been published under several different titles, as a direct result of ValuesDissonance. It was originally published in the UK as ''Ten Little Niggers'', which was not shocking in 1930s Britain. In the United States, [[DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch more sensitive publishers changed the title]] to ''And Then There Were None''[[note]]keeping in line with its allusion to the minstrel song[[/note]], while many earlier foreign translations kept the original title, such as ''Dix petits nègres'' in French or ''Zehn kleine Negerlein'' in German. The book was also published in English as ''Ten Little Indians'' on both sides of the Atlantic until people eventually came to see that title as racist as well. ''And Then There Were None'' has, more or less, become the official standardized title.

But whatever its title, every serious mystery fan knows the novel's plot by heart: [[TenLittleMurderVictims ten people, strangers to one another (except one pair of husband and wife), receive invitations to an island hideaway.]] A mysterious recording played for the group accuses each person of having caused another person's death. Sometime after the record is played, members of the group start dying one by one, each in ways similar to those in the rhyme ("Ten Little Niggers" in the original British edition, "Ten Little Indians" in many later editions, "Ten Little Soldiers" in current editions). Those still alive soon come to the only possible conclusion: one of them is killing the others. Paranoia and suspicion run high, as each person tries to outwit the killer; who can be trusted when everyone around them is dying? And how long will it be before the next one dies?

* TheButlerDidIt: [[spoiler:Averted; Rogers is one of the early characters to be killed off. He and his wife did commit the crime they were accused of, but the murders on the island weren't him.]]

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Or wasps and bees, in Miss Brent's case. She gets so freaked out by seeing bees that [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan someone else has to slap Miss Brent in the face to bring her back down to earth]]. Even then, it's still a sore subject.

** In the eplilogue, AC Legge and Inspector Maine are meticulous in analysing the case and trying to work out who the killer was. Maine refuses to use any shortcuts and probes every possible explanation for the deaths, even when this means accepting none of their theories. However, they cannot crack the case either.

* WhenItAllBegan: In the epliogue, the killer states that they were first inspired following a discussion with the GP (family doctor) of the employer of Mr & Mrs Rodgers. The GP stated that he was certain that the Rodgerses had deliberately killed their employer by witholding medication, but knew that there was no way of proving this, and wondered to the killer about how many other similar cases existed, where people had committed murders in ways that could never be proven.

* AmbiguousSituation / AmbiguouslyEvil: Every character eventually cops to the murder they're accused of (sometimes to try to justify or rationalize it), either openly to the group, privately to another character, or in their own internal monologue. Every character, that is, except the Rogerses, whose account of their employer's death is never explicitly contradicted by the text. There's evidence for (if it was an InheritanceMurder, it certainly wasn't a very successful one given that it didn't seem improve their station much) and against (Mrs. Rogers' reaction to the gramophone recording is not that of an innocent person) this conclusion, but they're the only characters who just ''might'' be innocent.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the 1945, 1965, and 1974 versions, [[spoiler: Power is cut to the house, resort, and hotel, respectively, by Blore attempting to fix the generator and screwing it up.]]

* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:And they all do.]]

* AssholeVictim: ''None'' of the victims is exactly an innocent, though Claythorne, Lombard, and Marston stand out for either the nature of their crimes, their lack of remorse, or both.

%%* AxCrazy: Vera and, to a lesser extent, [[spoiler:Wargrave.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: Well it ain't called ''[[MeaningfulName And Then There Were None]]'' for nothin'. The killer pulls the plan off so well that the police can't figure out what happened, closing the investigation well before the confession letter is discovered -- although your mileage may vary on whether this person really qualifies as the "bad guy" of the story, considering the victims' own crimes.

* BigBad: U.N. Owen, really [[spoiler:[[HangingJudge Justice]] Lawrence Wargrave]], is the killer who traps everyone in the mansion to [[TenLittleMurderVictims off them one-by-one]] as punishment for them getting away with their crimes.

* TheButlerDidIt: Averted; [[spoiler: Rogers is one of the early characters to be killed off. He and his wife did commit the crime they were accused of, but this is no surprise. ]]

* ClosedCircle: The group of ten are trapped on an island.
* ContrivedCoincidence: The storm prevents anybody from leaving the island throughout the course of the story. It's {{downplayed|Trope}}, as it was common knowledge that the island is often isolated by the storm for a week or more, at least one experienced man is able to predict its coming in advance, and, finally, the island is situated rather far from the coast anyway. Essentially, as that same man says, "you can't never tell at sea".

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Lombard doesn't seem to think that abandoning twenty-one men to starve was all that bad because "they were only natives".
** Lombard also sees Isaac Morris as fulfilling the GreedyJew stereotypes.

* EverybodysDeadDave: The only named character to survive the story is [[spoiler:Fred Narracott]], unless you count the policemen who only appear in the epilogue.
* EverybodyDiesEnding: When the authorities arrive, they find ten bodies. ''And then there were none.''

%%* GambitRoulette

* HaveAGayOldTime: General Macarthur's thoughts on Captain Philip Lombard: "That fellow Lombard now, he was a queer chap. Not straight. He'd swear the man wasn't straight."

%%* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Or wasps and bees, in Miss Brent's case.

** The video game also invokes this with Gabrielle Turl, the Hollywood actress mentioned among the rumours of the true identity of Indian/Soldier Island's owner in the book's opening. Renamed as Gabrielle Steel, [[spoiler: it's revealed in the game that she not only owns the island, she's been impersonating Miss Brent after murdering her two weeks prior, having masterminded the entire plot as revenge against Wargrave for killing Edward Seton, to whom she was romantically attached.]]

* NobleProfession: This is probably why Dr. Armstrong dies third, just before multiple-murderer Lombard and child-killer Vera, even though the death of his patient was arguably an accident; the killer felt he should know better.

* AlasPoorVillain: General Macarthur did send his wife's lover to his death but, by the time the story begins, he has become a somber man, living a rather unhappy life. Because of his act of jealousy, he's (unknowingly) condemned himself to live his retirement alone, when the rumors start to catch up with him. Also, his wife, whom he truly loved, never truly recovered after the death of her lover and died a few years after because of [[UsefulNotes/TheSpanishFlu the 1918-1920 Spanish flu pandemic]], ultimately making his action [[AllForNothing pointless]]. When he has to face the fact that he will never leave the island alive, [[FaceDeathWithDignity he calmly accepts his fate]]. The 2015 BBC adaptation goes one step further by showing that he ended up regretting not letting Leslie and her lover be together.
--> '''Macarthur''': "[[MyGreatestFailure I should have just stepped aside like a gentleman...]] [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy Just let them be happy...]]"

* OneDialogueTwoConversations: How Lombard meets his end. He failed to recognize that there was actually no double meaning in Vera's words and responded to her questions as if he needed to let her understand that she still wouldn't come on top. Which only made her certain that Lombard is the killer and has to be liquidated. Another proof that PoorCommunicationKills.