And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, who described it as the most difficult of her books to write.[2] It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, as Ten Little Niggers,[3] after an 1869 minstrel song that serves as a major plot element.[4][5] The US edition was released in January 1940 with the title And Then There Were None, taken from the last five words of the song.[6] Successive American reprints and adaptations use that title, though American Pocket Books paperbacks used the title Ten Little Indians between 1964 and 1986. UK editions continued to use the original title until 1985.[7]
The book is the world's best-selling mystery, and with over 100 million copies sold is one of the best-selling books of all time. The novel has been listed as the sixth best-selling title (any language, including reference works).[8]
