What are the subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace Danby into thinking she is the lady of the house? Why doesn’t Horace suspect that something is wrong?
The lady had a confident walk, her voice was firm and her act of touching up, her make-up and the ease with which she picks cigarette from the right place are enough to deceive anybody. Horace was too scared to think properly so he didn’t suspect anything.
Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?
What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Did you begin to suspect, before the end of the story, that the lady was not the person Horace Danby took her to be? If so, at what point did you realise this, and how?
“Horace Danby was good and respectable — but not completely honest”. Why do you think this description is apt for Horace? Why can’t he be categorised as a typical thief?
Who is speaking to Horace Danby?
Why does he steal every year?
Who is the real culprit in the story?
Why is Mrs Pumphrey worried about Tricki?
How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
How did the invisible man first become visible?
How did a book become a turning point in Richard Ebright’s life?
What kind of a person is Mme Loisel — why is she always unhappy?
Why is the lawyer sent to New Mullion? What does he first think about the place?
Why is Bholi’s father worried about her?
Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the Book’?
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
What does she do to help him? Is she wise in this?
What kind of a person is Mme Loisel — why is she always unhappy?
Who befriends him? Where does he take him?
What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?
Does the narrator serve the summons that day?
How can one become a scientist, an economist, a historian... ? Does it simply involve reading many books on the subject? Does it involve observing, thinking and doing experiments?
Bholi’s real name is Sulekha. We are told this right at the beginning. But only in the last but one paragraph of the story is Bholi called Sulekha again. Why do you think she is called Sulekha at that point in the story?
What guesses are made by Think–Tank about the books found on earth?
Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the Book’?
What more does Bill say about Lutkins and his family?
How did Bholi’s teacher play an important role in changing the course of her life?