The plot is structured around the ten lines of the rhyme "Ten Little Niggers",[3] an 1869 minstrel song by the British songwriter Frank Green.[9] In later editions, the characters are replaced by "Ten Little Indians" or "Ten Little Soldiers". (Confusingly, the American songwriter Septimus Winner had published his own, quite different, minstrel song in 1868, called "Ten Little Indians [or Injuns]".)[10][11]
This is the rhyme as published in a British 2008 edition:[12]
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 travelling in Devon; One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.[13] 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 in 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.
Each of the ten victims – eight guests plus the island's two caretakers – is killed in a manner that reflects one of the lines of the rhyme. A lawyer who helped arrange the affair is also killed during this time, but his killing occurs on the mainland and outside of the story.
Correspondence between rhyme and modes of death
| No. | Character | Accusation | Mode of death | Rhyme[12] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | Isaac Morris (Wargrave's agent) | Sold illegal drugs to a woman who became an addict and later died by suicide | Tricked into taking a lethal drug overdose to combat his imagined ailments | |
| 1 | Anthony James Marston | Struck and killed two young children while recklessly speeding | Chokes to death after drinking cyanide-laced whisky | ... one choked his little self and then there were nine. |
| 2 | Mrs Ethel Rogers | Allowed herself to be persuaded by her husband into withholding a former employer's medicine in order to cause her death and collect an inheritance | Dies in her sleep after drinking brandy spiked with an overdose of chloral hydrate | ... one overslept himself and then there were eight. |
| 3 | General John Gordon MacArthur | Discovered that his wife was having an affair with an officer under his command, then sent the man on a mission to almost certain death | Killed by a heavy blow to the head | ... one said he'd stay there and then there were seven.[13] |
| 4 | Thomas Rogers | Induced his wife to withhold a former employer's medicine in order to cause her death and collect an inheritance | Killed with an axe while chopping wood | ... one chopped himself in halves and then there were six. |
| 5 | Emily Caroline Brent | Dismissed her teenage maid for becoming pregnant out of wedlock, thus causing the maid to drown herself | Injected with cyanide after drinking chloral-laced coffee | ... a bumblebee stung one and then there were five. |
| 6 | Lawrence John Wargrave (Mr Justice Wargrave) | Improperly influenced a jury to bring in a guilty verdict against a man many thought to be innocent, then sentenced him to death | Gunshot wound to the head, while dressed as a judge | ... one got in Chancery and then there were four. |
| 7 | Dr Edward George Armstrong | Operated on a patient while drunk, resulting in her death | Drowns after being pushed off a cliff into the sea | ... a red herring swallowed one and then there were three. |
| 8 | William Henry Blore | Gave perjured evidence in court, resulting in an innocent man being convicted and sentenced to life in prison, where he died a year later | Head crushed by a marble clock shaped like a bear | ... a big bear hugged one and then there were two. |
| 9 | Philip Lombard | As a soldier of fortune, stole food from a group of East African tribesmen he was working with, then left them to die | Shot by Vera on the beach with his own revolver | ... one got frizzled up and then there was one. |
| 10 | Vera Elizabeth Claythorne | As a governess, allowed her young charge to drown so that his uncle could inherit the family estate and marry her | Hangs herself | ... he went out and hanged himself and then there were none. |
