But as soon as they arrive, things go from a tad odd to completely bizarre: there is no sign of their host, and, after dinner, a voice accuses them each of a different murder. Ten individuals are invited, under various guises, to spend a little holiday on a private island. The book and its adaptations have since been released under various new names since the original publication, including Ten Little Indians (1946 play, Broadway performance and 1964 paperback book), Ten Little Soldiers and – the most widely used today – And Then There Were None. (In Chapter 7, Vera Claythorne becomes semi-hysterical at the mention by Miss Brent of “our black brothers”, which is understandable only in the context of the original name.) The word “Nigger” was already racially offensive in the United States by the start of the 20th century, and therefore the book’s first US edition and first serialization changed the title to And Then There Were None and removed all references to the word from the book, as did the 1945 motion picture.

In the original UK novel all references to “Indians” or “Soldiers” were originally “Nigger”, including the island’s name, the pivotal rhyme found by the visitors, and the ten figurines. According to Wikipedia, it was never published as Ten Little Niggers in the US – The Aroma of Books //Rants//Raves//Reviews//īecause yes, this book is old enough that having “Niggers” in the title wasn’t considered offensive, at least in the UK. Pargeter, Edith (also writing as Ellis Peters).Mertz, Barbara (also writing as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels).Christie, Agatha (also writing as Mary Westmacott).Children’s History: Landmark, Signature Biographies, and We Were There.#BookSpin & #BookSpinBingo (Litsy Challenge).

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