<Dl> <Dt> Foreign language editions </Dt> </Dl> <Dt> Foreign language editions </Dt> <P> The sensitivity of the original British title varies across nations, depending on their culture and which words are used to describe people by skin color . In the US, the British title was considered offensive at first publication, and changed to the last line of the rhyme instead of its title . As the estate of Agatha Christie now offers it under one title only in English, And Then There Were None, it is likely that new foreign language editions will match that title in their language . The original title (Ten Little Niggers) still survives in a few foreign - language versions of the novel, such as the Bulgarian title Десет малки негърчета, and was used in other languages for a time, for example in Dutch until the 1994 release of the 18th edition . The title Ten Little Negroes continues to be commonly used in foreign - language versions, for example in Spanish, Greek, Serbian, Romanian, French and Hungarian, as well as a 1987 Russian film adaptation Десять негритят (Desyat Negrityat). In 1999, the Slovak National Theatre staged the play under its original title but changed to A napokon nezostal už nik (And Then There Were None) mid-run . </P> <P> Writing for The Times Literary Supplement of 11 November 1939, Maurice Percy Ashley stated, "If her latest story has scarcely any detection in it there is no scarcity of murders...There is a certain feeling of monotony inescapable in the regularity of the deaths which is better suited to a serialized newspaper story than a full - length novel . Yet there is an ingenious problem to solve in naming the murderer", he continued . "It will be an extremely astute reader who guesses correctly ." </P>

And then there were none by agatha christie short summary