This image or variants of this image

[u/RoundGeologist5417]

[u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

the original title in question:

[u/MrEmptySet → u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

In case anyone was curious, the title is a reference to a nursery rhyme, probably known better as "Ten Little Indians". Christie wrote a dozen or so stories with titles lifted from nursery rhymes (and often plots that metaphorically correspond in some way), though I couldn't tell you why.

[u/Disastrous_Point8584 → u/MrEmptySet]

After that it was named “And Then There Were None”

[u/TomNin97 → u/Disastrous_Point8584]

And the poem used in the story referred to them as "soldiers" iirc

[u/kingxfmischief → u/TomNin97]

I could have sworn it still called them Indians, cause I remember reading it in middle school in the early 2000s.

[u/TomNin97 → u/kingxfmischief]

Possibly changed several times then. By the time I was reading it in high school was the same time that the Cleveland Indians were dropping the name.

[u/justanotterdude → u/kingxfmischief]

It was changed. We read the version that had Ten Little Indians but I remember my teacher specifically saying that new versions had the poem called Ten Little Soldiers

[u/amberb3stgirl → u/TomNin97]

polish translation took from that and title of the book is "ten little soldiers"

[u/Rrrrandle → u/Disastrous_Point8584]

It was first published in the US in 1939 as "And Then There Were None," and the poem in the story reworded as Indians. The US version was then changed to "Ten Little Indians" in 1964.

The UK used the original title up until the 1980s, and then since the mid 1980s all versions have been "And Then There Were None."

[u/JustIta_FranciNEO → u/MrEmptySet]

I'm pretty sure it's known as "Ten Little Indians" in most other countries

[u/DueLawyer4528 → u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

^{no wonder the authors called agatha}

[u/DirectOrdinary4796 → u/DueLawyer4528]

agartha

[u/Ok_Future_3227 → u/DirectOrdinary4796]

Do you come from the land down under

[u/Ok_Branch2469 → u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

It was also "Ten Little Indians" for a couple decades after ditching that, before eventually moving on to "And then there were none"

[u/Just-A-Thumb → u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

No not Agatha too

[u/Sufficient-Region-75 → u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

Wait, Agatha Christie?

I have a compilation of her Hercule Poirot series.

[u/AbbyNem → u/Sufficient-Region-75]

The book itself isn't racist (or at least no more than casually racist like most British stuff from that time period), the title refers to a nursery rhyme that is important to the plot of the book. But yeah baaaad title choice.

[u/Ok_Branch2469 → u/AbbyNem]

Yeah, hence the second title just used the alternate title for the poem "Ten Little Indians" and when THAT became controversial just switched to the ending line of "And then there were none". (maybe if they had waited a bit they would have switched to Ten Little Soldierboys). They couldn't remove the reference to the poem as it was plot crucial.

That would be like the anime Elfen Lied removing the poem Elfen Lied and OH WAIT THEY DID IT WAS IN THE MANGA, BUT NOT IN THE SHOW THE FUCKING NAMESAKE MUSIC BOX IS MISSING-sorry, sorry.....old memories

[u/MO_MMJ → u/Ok_Branch2469]

Can you spoil it for me, why it was plot crucial? I'm never going to read it, I enjoyed the Poiroit movies but I just can't get into realistic fiction, but I'm curious.

[u/Likes_watermelon → u/MO_MMJ]

Basically at the start of the book a group of people get invited to the island and then they start dying in accordance to the nursery rhyme , and everyone's trying to figure out who did it. E.g. the first line was changed to "Ten little soldier boys going out to dine, One choked his little self and then there were nine" And the first death was cyanide poisoning while everyone was eating

[u/MO_MMJ → u/Likes_watermelon]

Thanks.

[u/Ok_Branch2469 → u/MO_MMJ]

I dunno someone else told me that

[u/Magic_Monk3y → u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

I read her novels, never heard of this tho lmfao

[u/FirstNewFederalist → u/Magic_Monk3y]

Modern editions are titled “and then there were none”;
An older title was also “Ten Little Indians”.

[u/Rrrrandle → u/FirstNewFederalist]

The US version actually started as "and then there were none" then changed to "ten Little Indians" in the 60s and then back to "and then there were none."

The UK version was the original up until the 80s and went straight to "and then there were none".

[u/Magic_Monk3y → u/FirstNewFederalist]

Oooohhhhh

[u/mostly_pee → u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

Imagine this middle-aged English lady carefully placing her teacup next to her typewriter, adjusting the first page, taking a deep sigh and typing Ten Little N*****s

[u/Cosmic_Ricochet → u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

Oh god my class read that in middle school, but it wasn’t the original. I had no idea it used to be called that until now 😭

[u/Illustrious_Loss462 → u/Wrong-Mouse-6499]

This name was considered unacceptable in the United States apparently and changed to and then there were none from the start