Kitty wrote:
My copy has the TLN title - I don't want to replace it because it is old, but it makes me cringe at the same time!
Maybe it's my advanced years, but it makes me cringe more to see And Then There Were None!
I can see little wrong in the term nigger when it is used to describe people in that era. There used to be a couple of expressions used commonly in the 50s, a nigger driver to denote a cruel person and a nigger in the woodpile - "The sayings with 'fence' and 'woodpile' developed when the 'Underground Railroad' was flourishing successfully. Evidence is slight, but because early uses of the expressions occurred in Northern states, it is presumable that they derived from actual instances of the surreptitious concealment of fugitive Negroes in their flight north through Ohio or Pennsylvania to Canada under piles of firewood or within hiding places in stone fences."
I have only read a few Christies, but I've found each one very hooking. I was reading the excellent Peril at End House some days before. I still haven't read Christie's masterpiece and also many others. I must hunt them now down I suppose in second-hand (curiously, these books are not available new here).
By the way, can anyone tell me what's wrong with the word Indian?
"A holiday — a mystery — an adventure — and a happy ending for dear old Barney!" said Roger. "What more could anyone want?" "An ice cream," said Snubby promptly. "Who's coming to buy one?"The Rubadub Mystery
Kitty wrote:
My copy has the TLN title - I don't want to replace it because it is old, but it makes me cringe at the same time!
Maybe it's my advanced years, but it makes me cringe more to see And Then There Were None!
I can see little wrong in the term nigger when it is used to describe people in that era. There used to be a couple of expressions used commonly in the 50s, a nigger driver to denote a cruel person and a nigger in the woodpile - "The sayings with 'fence' and 'woodpile' developed when the 'Underground Railroad' was flourishing successfully. Evidence is slight, but because early uses of the expressions occurred in Northern states, it is presumable that they derived from actual instances of the surreptitious concealment of fugitive Negroes in their flight north through Ohio or Pennsylvania to Canada under piles of firewood or within hiding places in stone fences."
Abslutely Nigel, I cringe too. My uncle has a copy of Ten Little Niggers, but we've got And Then There Were None. I find it extremely amusing the way they changed it to Ten Little Indians! As the book was written 70 years ago, you have to expect changes in society. Soon they'll be removing all references to magic in the Harry Potter books, and as for the Calormenes in the Narnia series...
"I gave half a crown to a beggar because I saw him yawn; he was a fellow-sufferer."
(The Thirty-nine Steps)
