The novel takes place on an island off the coast of Devon in late 1930's, where eight people of different social classes journey to the Soldier Island mansion, having been invited there by a Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen. Upon arriving, they are told by the butler and his wife, Thomas and Ethel Rogers, that their hosts are currently away. Each guest finds in his room a slightly odd bit of bric-a-brac and a framed copy of the nursery rhyme "Ten Little Soldier Boys" ("Ten Little Niggers" in the original 1939 UK publication and "Ten Little Indians" in the 1940 US publication) hanging on the wall:
Ten little Soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Soldier boys traveling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Soldier boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Soldier boys going in for law;
One got into Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Soldier boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two Little Soldier boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Soldier boy left all alone
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.
And Then There Were None is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November 1939 under the title of Ten Little Niggers and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940. The novel has also been published (and filmed) as Ten Little Indians. It has sold 115 million copies to date according to the editors of Publications International, Ltd., making it the world's best-selling mystery.
During a large dinner, the guests notice ten little figurines of soldiers on the dining room table. Later, when they gather in the parlor, a gramophone recording (bearing the label Swan Song) is played, informing the ten that all of them are guilty of murder, though in each case they were not sentenced to death or heavy prison terms since the nature of the killings meant that the law could not touch them:
- Anthony Marston ran over and killed two children while driving recklessly.
- Mr. and Mrs. Rogers let their invalid employer die by withholding her medication, in order to claim a large inheritance.
- General John MacArthur sent his wife's lover on a suicidal mission during World War I.
- Emily Brent dismissed her maid after she became pregnant; the maid later committed suicide.
- Justice Lawrence Wargrave gave the death penalty to accused murderer Edward Seton despite evidence supporting his innocence.
- Dr. Edward Armstrong performed a surgical operation while drunk and accidentally killed his patient.
- Inspector William Blore committed perjury during the trial of an accused bank robber, who died in prison.
- Phillip Lombard abandoned a party of twenty-one native retainers to die in the African bush.
- Vera Claythorne allowed Cyril Hamilton, a small boy in her care, to swim out to sea and drown; the boy was in the way of an inheritance which went to her lover, Hugo Hamilton, who later left her since he suspected her of deliberately causing the death of the boy whom he was very fond of.
Characters in "And Then There Were None"
- Anthony James Marston. An almost perfect specimen of a man born to a wealthy family. Amoral, vain and self-absorbed, with no time for worrying about those whom he may have harmed, intentionally or otherwise. He ran over and killed two youths, feeling no remorse for the incident as he lacks any kind of moral responsibility.
- Mrs. Ethel Rogers, the nervous housekeeper and cook. She is a pale-faced, ghostlike woman with shifty light eyes, who is scared easily. One of the first people to come to the island; respectable and efficient but seems scared of something and is always looking over her shoulder. She helped her domineering husband, Roger, kill an elderly employer by withholding medicine, so they could inherit her money.
- General John Gordon Macarthur, a retired World War I hero. Now a lonely but still proud man who has lost contact with his old friends in the military and has, according to the rumors, more than a few skeletons in his closet. He sent several men to their deaths so he could dispose of a love rival in his regiment.
- Mr. Thomas Rogers, the butler, Mrs. Rogers' husband. One of the first people to come to the island; respectable and efficient but with no imagination. He is a very hard worker even in his old age. He bullied his wife into helping him kill an elderly employer by withholding restorative drugs from her, so they could inherit money.
- Emily Caroline Brent, an elderly spinster and religious zealot. A woman of unyielding principles who uses the Christian Bible to justify her inability to show compassion or understanding for others, which may have caused suffering in the past. Her crime was dismissing her pregnant maid, Beatrice Taylor, who later threw herself into a river. Miss Brent feels no guilt whatsoever.
- Justice Lawrence Wargrave, a retired judge, well known as a hanging judge. He was accused in the story of having caused the murder of a man by the name of Edward Seton by changing the jury's decision for ulterior motives, from not guilty to guilty, and Seton was executed.
- Dr. Edward George Armstrong, a Harley Street surgeon and a former alcoholic. Worked his way up the social ladder but lately he has become tired of the long working hours and little reprieve.
- William Henry Blore, a retired police inspector, now a private investigator. A big, hulking and bullying man who solved a series of robberies during his police days but may not have been entirely honest about his methods.
- Philip Lombard, a soldier of fortune. Traveled most of the world and has a reputation of being a good man in a tight spot: he has apparently "sailed very near the wind" on occasion due to shady activities. Literally down to his last square meal, he comes to the island with a loaded revolver.
- Vera Elizabeth Claythorne, a young teacher, secretary, and ex-governess. She is forced to take mostly secretarial jobs since her last job as a governess ended in the death of her charge. She let Cyril Hamilton swim out to sea and drown so that his uncle, Hugo Hamilton, could inherit his money and marry her. Out of all the characters, Vera is the most tormented by her guilt and the thought of her ex-lover.
- Mr. Owen, the unseen host whose voice is heard on the record (or tape in film adaptations) that accuses all of them of murdering various people. Christopher Lee, Orson Welles and Victor Travers have voiced him on film, among others.
- Fred Naracott, the boat driver that only appears once in the story while bringing the guests to Soldier Island.
