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And Then There Were None

CRITIQUE | QUOTES | AT THE MOVIES

First editionFirst US edition, 1940
Publication details ▽ Publication details △

Also called
Ten Little Indians

First publication
1939

Literature form
Novel

Genres
Crime, mystery

Writing language
English

Author's country
England

Length
Approx. 53,500 words

Notable lines

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.

— First lines

"Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine....
"One little Indian boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none."

 

If this had been an old house, with creak­ing wood, and dark shad­ows, and heav­ily pan­elled walls, there might have been an eerie feel­ing. But this house was the essence of moder­ni­ty. There were no dark corners—​no pos­si­ble slid­ing pan­els—it was flood­ed with elec­tric light—every­thing was new and bright and shining. There was noth­ing hid­den in this house, noth­ing con­cealed. It had no at­mo­sphere about it. Some­how, that was the most fright­en­ing thing of all.

 

"Many homicidal lunatics are very quiet, unassuming people. Delightful fellows."

 

When the sea goes down, there will come from the mainland boats and men. And they will find ten dead bodies and an unsolved problem on Indian Island.

— Last lines

 

CRITIQUE | QUOTES | AT THE MOVIES