Paris (AFP)
English novelist Agatha Christie's bestseller "Dix petits nègres" will no longer be called that in its French version, RTL revealed on Wednesday.
The new title which appears Wednesday at the Mask will be entitled "They were ten", we learned from the publisher.
The decision to change the name of one of the most well-known titles to "Queen of Crime" was taken by Agatha Christie's great-grandson James Prichard, the radio said.
The word "negro" which was quoted 74 times in the original version of the story no longer appears at all in the new edition translated by Gérard de Chergé.
“When the book was written, the language was different and we used words that are now forgotten,” said on the radio the man who heads the company that owns the literary and media rights to the works of Agatha Christie.
"My opinion is that Agatha Christie was above all there to entertain and she would not have liked the idea of someone being hurt by one of her turns of phrase (...) It makes sense to me: I wouldn't want a title that distracts from their work. If one person felt that way, it would be too much! We should no longer use terms that could hurt, "insisted James Prichard.
The novel was written in 1938 by Agatha Christie and published in French in 1940. The original title is "Ten Little Niggers".
France was one of the last countries in the world to still use the word "nègre" for the name of the author's book "Mort sur le Nil".
In the United States, the novel has been published under the title "And Then There Were None" for several decades.
The island where the plot which was called "the island of the negro" takes place has become in the new version "the island of the soldier".
Adapted to cinema (notably with Charles Aznavour) and television, the book is a world bestseller. It has sold over 100 million copies. “It's one of the greatest hits of all time, it's his biggest hit and it's the best-selling crime book in history,” said James Prichard.
The announcement of the change of title of Agatha Christie's novel has provoked many reactions on social networks.
"A few months ago, there were thousands of people laughing heartily at the uneducated who were indignant at this title. From now on, inculture triumphs and reigns. # Dixpetitsnègres", posted the philosopher Raphaël Enthoven on his account. twitter.
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