And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. This is not the original title that it was published under and has since been changed for its use of a derogatory slur, though it retains the same meaning as it uses the final line of the poem for which it was originally named rather than either of its known titles.
There were ten people—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend …
And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. This is not the original title that it was published under and has since been changed for its use of a derogatory slur, though it retains the same meaning as it uses the final line of the poem for which it was originally named rather than either of its known titles.
There were ten people—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common are their wicked pasts they're unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. Each has been marked for murder, following the plot of a famous nursery rhyme. When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.
Premier Agatha Christie pour moi, la découverte du «méta-roman» de Pierre Bayard, La vérité sur Ils étaient dix, m'a fait lire d'abord la version originale. L'intrigue est prometteuse, une île comme chambre close, non pas un mais dix meurtres, en quelques jours. Mais c'est plutôt décevant. Trop de choses à admettre, trop de place pour le hasard alors qu'il s'agit de dix meurtres. C'est dans ces interstices que Pierre Bayard va se glisser avec maestria.
