And Then There Were None is a fantastic mystery-thriller novel, considered to be
one of the best works of Agatha Christie. The story consists of 10 main characters
who receive an invitation to an island called ‘Soldier Island’. The male characters
received their invitation from someone called ‘Ulick Norman Owen’ while the
female ones were sent an invitation by ‘Una Nancy Owen’. The main characters of
the story are –
1. Vera Claythorne –
A games mistress who received the job offer to be the Owens’ secretary. She used to be the governess of a child named Cyril, who died when he went into the sea in an attempt to swim to a rock nearby. Miss Claythorne herself nearly escaped death while trying to save him.
2. Philip Lombard –
An ex-army man who is invited to the soldier island by the
Ulick Norman Owen and is advised to bring a gun with him. Philip Lombard
was deployed in the African continent where he is believed to have killed
21 African natives while he was in Africa.
3. William Henry Blore -
A former police inspector turned private investigator who is told to come under the false identity of ‘Davis’ to ‘keep an eye' on all the other guests.
4. General McArthur -
He was a general in the 1st World War. He was invited to meet some of his old friends from the war.
5. Justice Lawrence Wargrave –
A retired Judge; also known as the ‘hanging judge’. He is infamous for his death penalties. It is said about him that he used to watch all the hangings he ordered. Mr. Owen invites him to meet his old friend named Mrs. Constance Culmington.
6. Emily Brent –
She is a 62-year-old woman with religious mania. She is a dire conservative and never fails to judge people and form opinions about them. She believes that all women should behave as ‘Englishwomen’. She is invited by the Owens to meet her friend, a certain Miss Oliver, whom she had met sometime before.
7. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers –
Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are the caretakers of the House in Soldier Island. Mrs. Rogers is also the cook. They have been appointed by the Owens and have arrived on the island sometime before the others. Although they have been employed by the Owens, both the caretakers have never seen their employers before.
8. Dr. John Armstrong –
Dr. Armstrong is a physician and a surgeon by profession. He initially says that he is on a soldier island for ‘vacation’. But when everything begins to fall apart, he is forced to reveal the true reason for his presence on the island. He claims that Mr. Owen had requested him to come to attend to Mrs. Owen’s illness.
9. Anthony Marston –
Mr. Marston is a young man who loves cars. He owns a sports car and is known to drive recklessly. He almost hits Dr. Armstrong’s car on the way to Soldier Island. He was also responsible for the accidental death of two children, John and Lucy Combes, although he blames it on the children for playing on the road in the evening.
The mystery begins to rise when the guests realize that their hosts themselves are not present on the island. They are told by the caretakers that either a letter from the hosts or Mr. and Mrs. Owen themselves would arrive the next day with ‘Narracott’, who transports goods and people to the Soldier Island by boat.
In every room, there is a poem called ‘Ten Little Soldiers’ framed on the walls, with 10 miniature soldier figurines decorated on the dinner table.
Suddenly the voice of a mysterious man fills up the whole house. The voice accuses all of the guests, including the secretary and the caretakers, of various crimes. It begins with, “Ladies and Gentlemen! You are charged with the following indictments....” and then the voice goes on to name each person and the crime they committed. The voice ends by saying “Prisoners at the bar, how do you plead?”. The recording ends by the time everyone realizes that it was being played from a recorder in another room, which the caretakers were instructed to set to play automatically at a specific time.
All of them decide to leave the island the next day when Narracott arrives. But soon enough the killings start and they realize that they can’t leave the island because Narracott is not coming! They are left with no choice but to defend themselves and pray that the mysterious and ‘unknown murderer’ does not kill them next. What’s scarier is that after each murder, one soldier figurine mysteriously disappears from the table.
‘And Then There Were None' is a book filled with mysteries and thrills. It also teaches us a lesson that no crime in the world goes unpunished. If the law fails to punish someone for their crimes, then nature finds a way to do so. This book is a must-read for all the mystery lovers, and especially for all the Agatha Christie fans like me!
Struggling CMO. 🤧....