Ten Little Niggers

By Agatha Christie

Eight people arrive on a small, isolated island off the Devon coast, each having received an unexpected personal invitation. They are met by the butler and cook-housekeeper, Thomas and Ethel Rogers, who explain that their hosts, Norman Owen and Una Nancy Owen, have not yet arrived, though they have left instructions. A framed copy of the old rhyme "Ten Little Niggers" hangs in every guest's room, and on the dining room table sit ten figurines. After supper, a phonograph record is played; the recording accuses each visitor as well as the Rogers of having committed murder, then asks if any of the "prisoners at the bar" wishes to offer a defence. The guests discover that none of them knows the Owens, and Mr Justice Wargrave suggests that the name "U N Owen" is a play on "Unknown." Marston finishes his drink and promptly dies of cyanide poisoning. Dr. Armstrong confirms that there was no cyanide in the other drinks and suggests that Marston must have dosed himself. The plot then thickens...

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