Reception History
Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None is noted as the world's best-selling mystery. It's reception and appreciation has continued since its initial publication in 1939. Since its debut, the novel has seen many adaptations and parodies, many audiences, and many critics.
Initial Reception
Initial Reception
After the changing of the title, Christie’s novel was met with great enthusiasm when published in the US in 1940. The New York Times wrote about the novel twice in its year of publication. The first article “Books of the Times” by Charles Poore said, “The mystery is foolproof. The solution is fair...The story is entertainingly preposterous,” (Poore, 1940, 18). Another article, written by Isaac Anderson and titled “New Mystery Stories” held the novel in higher regard. It said, “The whole thing was utterly impossible and utterly fascinating. It is the most baffling mystery that Agatha Christie has ever written, and if any other writer has ever surpassed it for sheer puzzlement the name escapes our memory,” (Anderson, 1940). In the United Kingdom, reviewers heralded the work for its plot and its ingenuity. The New Statesman called it, “The most colossal achievement of the most colossal career.” Perhaps it was the pre established name of “Agatha Christie” that initially sold the book, but the contents within the pages kept the novel so highly read.
Current Reception
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Sales To Date
Internationally, And Then There Were None has sold over 100 million copies. While these sales speak to its reception, they become more significant when comparing them to the best selling individual book titles of all time. With the exclusion of religious texts, Christie’s novel sits sixth in the rankings of all time best selling books. Her novel only came behind Don Quixote, Xinhua Zidian, A Tale of Two Cities, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone respectively (Grabianowski, 2011). Critics have attributed the overwhelming popularity of this book to the intricate plot of the novel, especially since it broke the crime genre mold during its time. Other critics believe the Christie novel is wildly popular due to its easiness to read and relatively cheap price, but perhaps the most obvious reason for this novel’s success is that it followed many other popular and highly esteemed pieces of fiction that drew a great audience.
Adaptations
Christie was the first to adapt her novel beginning with the stage adaptation performed in 1943. However, the novel has also been adapted to the big screen and television. The many adaptations vary, yet have some notable differences that set them apart.
Stage Play
Christie was the first to adapt her novel. Just four years after publication of the novel Agatha Christie’s stage play And Then There Were None: A Mystery Play in Three Acts took the stage. However, Christie altered her 1943 play from the original novel in part due to the state of the world in the midst of its second World War. These sensitivities towards the play’s potential viewers resulted in, “...the ending [being] changed as both she and the producers were concerned about leaving the audience on a low note,” (Agatha Christie Limited, “And Then There Were None”). Rather than having all ten guests killed and the mystery unsolved, Christie made the story’s killer, Justice Wargrave, face defeat from its protagonists, Vera Claythorne and Philip Lombard. This ending of course complicates the poem in the novel which ends with “One little soldier boy left all alone. He went and hanged himself and then there were none,” (Christie, 268). This in mind, Christie changed the poem’s ending in the play as well to “One little soldier boy left all alone. He got married and then there were none,” which is a line that Vera imagines to be her fate prior to her hanging in the novel (Christie, 267). This ending dramatically changes the story because both Vera and Philip escape their murder, the crime is solved, and the tone at the end is now hopeful instead of dreary.
Photo: "Front cover of the 2011 edition of the play And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie" retrieved fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:And-Then-There-Were-None-Samuel-French.jpg
And Then There Were None Takes the Big Screen
After the play adaptation, the novel quickly was adapted for cinema. In 1945, René Clair created the first movie version of the story. Clair was a famous French director known for his avant-garde style. Amongst many other European filmmakers, Clair moved to the United States around the time of World War II; during his time in the states, he directed four films including Christie’s And Then There Were None. His version of the movie is regarded as, “one of the best film translations of the mystery writer's works,” (“René Clair”, 2019). His camera techniques were noted for particularly drawing in the viewers into the disturbed feelings and anxiety of the guests of the island.
Video: And Then There Were None Trailer 1945
Additional Movie Adaptations
The adaptations of Christie's novel did not end with Clair's movie. In fact, a total of four movies were directly based on the novel in English and many other movie adaptations were loosely based on the film. Two of these movies directly following the plot were titled Ten Little Indians. The first of these was created in 1965 and directed by George Pollock and the second was a 1989 film directed by Alan Birkinshaw. The 1974 film, And Then There Were None, was directed by Peter Collinson. This version reused the script of the 1965 adaptation and was shot in pre-revolution Iran. The novel has transcended english speaking screens as it was also produced in the form of a Hindi adaptation, Russian adaptation, Cuban adaptation, West German adaptation, and French adaptation (Agatha Christie Limited, “And Then There Were None”).
Video: And Then There Were None (1974)- Trailer
Christie's Mystery on Television
And Then There Were None is no stranger to the television. Many of its movie adaptations have been adapted to television and have aired in both the US and UK. BBC was the first to televise her novel in 1949. However, the novel has most recently met the TV with BBC’s three part miniseries in 2015. The miniseries adaptation, “...was the first screen adaptation of And Then There Were None to include Agatha Christie's original ending,” (Agatha Christie Limited, “Overview”). In an interview about the series, CEO of Agatha Christie Productions Hilary Strong said, “Agatha Christie Productions is really thrilled to be bringing Christie's biggest selling novel to the small screen in this major new drama,” (Agatha Christie Limited, “Filming Begins”). Christie’s grandson, Mathew Prichard, additionally said, “I am so excited that… the most iconic of Agatha Christie stories is being made for television with this... extraordinary cast. My grandmother would be thrilled to know that a new generation will... enjoy And Then There Were None..."(Agatha Christie Limited, “Filming Begins”). The miniseries has come with much praise for going in depth with the psychological trauma of the guests and for having a star studded cast.
Image retrieved from: https://variety.com/2016/tv/reviews/and-then-there-were-none-review-1201721327/
Credit: Courtesy Lifetime