Ever wonder how it would feel to be stuck on a deserted island? How would you feel if you were stranded on a deserted island with ten people and they all mysteriously die, one by one? I know I would feel absolutely terrified! In And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, you will experience exactly what I have mentioned above.
Characters
Lawrence Wargave: Mr. Wargave is a judge and has a controlling personality. He feels the need to be the leader of the group.
Vera Claythorne: Ms. Claythorne works as a schoolteacher and for some reason always seems to be nervous.
Philip Lombard: Mr. Lombard at some point in his life went to Africa to spend some time with some natives and then took their food and left them to die. I guess you can tell how his personality is, right? ;) Oh yes, Mr. Lombard also brings a gun to Indian Island which also makes a lot of other house guests suspicious.
Emily Brent: Ms. Brent the old stern English-type woman. She is very strict and very proper. She hates trouble and never has anything to do with it. She is also extremely religious (she is a Christian, to be more precise).
John MacArthur (also known as General MacArthur): You guessed it! Mr. MacArthur is indeed a general in the Army. He is a very disturbed man ever since he lost his wife years ago.
Edward Armstrong (goes by Dr. Armstrong): Yes… Mr. Armstrong is a doctor. He is a pretty normal man except for the fact that he brings some drugs to the Island which again makes him look a little suspicious to other visitors.
William Blore: If I remember correctly, Mr. Blore is a police officer. Nothing too significant about this man. Unlike some of the others, Mr. Blore does not bring any unusual items or looks very suspicious to the other people on Indian Island.
The Rogers: Ahhh…. What a happy couple! Well… sorta. Both the Rogers are already settled on Indian Island when all the other eight guests arrive. They are supposed to be all the guest’s housekeepers/cooks/butler, etc. Both the Rogers are also (like MacArthur) shy and disturbed. I cannot tell you why they feel this way, but if you read this book (like I know you all are going to, right? :)) you will see why.
Anthony Marston: Mr. Marston is a young, jolly-good fellow! He is very adventurous and is an all-around nice guy.
That completes the listing of the characters mentioned in And Then There Were None. I hope you now have a better understanding on what each character is like.
Plot
Each of the ten guests listed above are invited by U.N. Owen to spend a weekend at Indian Island which is located one mile off the coast of Devon. None of the guests know anything about U.N. Owen but they take the offer anyway. When everyone arrives at the island, U.N. Owen is no where to be found. No one is on the island except Mr. and Mrs. Rogers which are the guest’s butlers (they are included as the ten guests). Anyway, each of the ten guests spend a little time to get to know one another, and get settled into their rooms. And in each of the ten bedrooms a framed poem hangs on the wall entitled Ten Little Indians. It says:
Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Indian boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four
Four little Indian boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Indian boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.
This is pretty much how the entire story goes. Each of the visitors die off one by one (each dying in a way somehow related to the poem) until there are none. After the first death occurs, all the guests prepare to leave on the boat which is supposed to come each morning to deliver food and other goods, but the boat comes once (to bring all the visitors to the Island) and never comes back again. From the very first night all the guests arrive, strange things start to occur. First, they hear a gramophone that accuses each of the guests of committing murder (which for some of the guests is a surprise) and then someone actually dies the first night. At first, everyone thinks the people die from committing suicide, but later they realize that’s not the case. Someone (one of the guests) is indeed the murderer killing all the houseguests, one by one. And the horrible thing is that there is no chance of escaping the Island because the boat will never return. Who is the murderer killing all of the house guests? Will anyone on Indian Island make it out alive?
Writing Style
And Then There Were None is a chapter book, but it is different because each chapter is separated into sections that tell the story from a different viewpoint. Sorry if this isn’t coming in too clear. What I mean by this is that in each chapter, we might read a section that talks about how Vera Claythorne is feeling and what’s happened from her viewpoint, and in another section (of the same chapter) the story might be seen from Dr. Armstrong’s point of view. The only problem I see with this is that it might be hard to keep up with which person is which because there are so many characters in And Then There Were None.
What did I like about this book? I really liked how Agatha Christie kept the reader very involved with the book. When the first death occurs in the book, you are immediately drawn into the book and won’t be able to put it down until you find out who is killing all these innocent people. Ms. Christie also left the reader wondering how and who was going to die next which was great for the reader.
Is there anything I didn’t like about And Then There Were None? No, not really. The only part I didn’t find too exciting was the first chapter which describes all ten characters. It was not very exciting (and long too!), but it’s the way Ms. Christie chose to give detail on each of the characters in this mystery novel. So I guess there really aren’t any downsides to And Then There Were None.
Note: Do not read (or even look!) at the last page of the book until you get there. I made this mistake and found out who the killer was when I was only half way through the book! Make sure you don’t make the same mistake I did!
Also, make sure you read the epilogue. In the epilogue, all the questions left unanswered in the “story” section of the book will be answered. You will find out who the killer was, his or her motive for killing, and how he or she planned all the homicides on Indian Island.
Overall
After reading And Then There Were None, I can now say I am enjoying murder/mystery novels. I love the suspense involved and enjoy trying to figure out who the murderer actually is. I can say for sure, that this is not the last Agatha Christie novel I will be reading.
I would recommend And Then There Were None to people ages 12 and up. The murder involved might be too frightening for younger kids, but for older kids and adults, I guarantee you will love this book. So what are you waiting for, go and read And Then There Were None today!
Thanks for reading and enjoy!
© tkd_grant 2002
