And Then There Were None Quotes
The 6 most famous lines from Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (1939), each with its speaker and the scene it belongs to. These are the quotes readers underline, copy into essays and put on walls - gathered in one place, explained in a line.
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“Ten little soldier boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were nine.”
- The nursery rhyme. Printed above the mantelpiece in every bedroom — the book's table of contents disguised as a children's rhyme.
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“Ten little soldier boys going out to dine; One went and choked himself and then there were nine.”
- The gramophone record. The voice that accuses them all closes with the rhyme, which is when the guests realize the poem is a schedule.
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“That's peace — real peace. To come to the end — not to have to go on... yes, peace...”
- Vera Claythorne. Her last thoughts in the bedroom with the noose — the novel's final piece of cruelty: the killer arranges for the victim to agree.
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“I have wanted — let me confess it frankly — to commit a murder myself.”
- Judge Wargrave (letter). From the confession in the bottle: the murderer stating the case with the exactness he used on the bench, no apology attached.
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“The whole thing came to me in a flash.”
- Judge Wargrave (letter). Explaining the island scheme — the mechanics laid out plainly, the way golden-age fair play promised the reader they would be.
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“One of us... one of us... one of us...”
- Vera Claythorne. The thought that takes over the party as the numbers drop — three words that do more dread than any description could.
Why these lines survive
Agatha Christie’s sentences earn their fame by compression: each line carries the whole book’s argument in a form you can carry in your pocket. Read in order, the 6 quotes above also sketch the novel’s shape - the world it opens, the pressure it applies, the note it ends on. If you meet them before the book, nothing is spoiled beyond mood; if you meet them after, each one lands like a place you have been.
Quote collectors: pair this page with the And Then There Were None quiz to see which lines actually stuck, the book club questions when you want to argue about them, or how long the reread takes - about 3 hours and 47 minutes at an average pace. If the lines did their job and you want more of the same nerve, the books like And Then There Were None list is next.
Want the whole shelf’s lines? Our Agatha Christie books in order guide lists every book.
How to use a quotes page
Three honest uses. Before reading: skim the first two quotes to taste the prose - if the voice does not pull you, the book will not either. During: mark which quote you actually reach in the text, because the distance between famous line and lived scene is where a book keeps its secrets. After: pick the one quote you would defend at dinner and check it against the discussion questions - a quote you can argue about is a quote you understood. What a quotes page is not for is replacing the book; five lines of Agatha Christie are an invitation, not a summary.
More quote collections
Frankenstein quotes, Dracula quotes, The Picture of Dorian Gray quotes, Wuthering Heights quotes - or browse quotes from all 133 classics. Then see which of them stuck on the original book quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous quote from And Then There Were None?
“Ten little soldier boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were nine.” - the line most readers meet first. The full list above gives the scene for every one of the 6.
How many And Then There Were None quotes are here?
6, chosen because they are the lines readers actually underline and repeat - each with who says it and where it lands in the book.
Are these quotes explained?
Yes - every quote carries its speaker and a one-line context, because a quote without its scene loses most of its charge.
Can I use these in an essay or post?
Short quoted lines with attribution are standard fair use in essays and posts. Quote accurately, name the author, and you are on solid ground.
Are these And Then There Were None quotes word-for-word accurate?
They are checked against the novel as written, not harvested from quote sites - which is why a few famous “lines” you may have seen elsewhere are missing here: many of those come from film adaptations or paraphrase the prose. What is listed above is the book.