And Then There Were None

heyIn the gripping locked-room mystery novel, And Then There were None, Agatha Christie details a story about ten people: Justice Wargrave, Vera Claythorne, Philip Lombard, Dr. Armstrong, William Blore, Emily Brent, Mr. Rogers, General MacArthur, Mrs. Rogers, and Anthony Marston, who have all been accused of committing some murder out of reach from the law. Each of them are invited to Soldier Island by a mysterious U.N. Owen, and the ten perceive this to be an opportunity for vacation. Unbeknownst to them, however, is that what lies behind this picturesque island is a sinister plot to truly make them pay for their past actions. A dark nursery rhyme is placed in their rooms, and so are the ten soldier boys detailed in the rhyme. The rhyme becomes

Miller’s mother, Clara Miller, was an exceptional story teller, but did not wish for (Agatha) Miller to read until she was eight. Remarkably, (Agatha) Miller managed to teach herself how to read at the age of five. Agatha Miller’s first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published in October, 1920 and won serious acclaim from the Pharmaceutical Journal, an unprecedented honor for a writer at that time. The protagonist of this story, Hercule Poirot, would later star in many of her other novels. After her marriage to Archie Christie, (Agatha) Christie was a prolific writer, successfully publishing more than seventy-five novels. Some of her successful novels include The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) which was described by the Crime Writers’ Association as being one of the best crime scene novels of all time. Another novel, Murder on the Orient Express (1934) received praise and acclaim from The New York Times and the Guardian. Other novels, such as The A.B.C. Murders received great praise as well from the New York Times. These accomplishments and appraisals, coupled with the fact that Christie holds the record of selling the most books mark her as an eloquent and intelligent

The theme is played on throughout the story, and even later plays in via guilt; each of the men and women on Soldier Island are guilty of murder not punishable via the law, and for some, the guilty conscience becomes too much for them to bear. The survivors are accused of the murders early on in the story, “You are charged with the following indictments: Edward George Armstrong, that you did upon the 14th day of March, 1925, cause the death of Louisa Mary Clees. Emily Caroline Brent, that upon the 5th of November, 1931, you were responsible for the death of Beatrice Taylor . . .” (46-47). The tape later goes on to accuse the others of murders as well, which can be inferred to be the motive of the killer. Later, guilt plays a massive role in one of the survivors: Vera Claythorne, with whom the story takes almost a special emphasis on in showing her guilty conscience, “That was what murder was-as easy as that! But afterwards, you went on remembering” (269). Through this, we see her guilt, thus marking their guiltiness for their crimes and the inability of the law to reach them as a major theme of the