The Landlady

by Roald Dahl

Meet the AuthorRoald Dahl

• Born in Wales (1916-1990)

• He often writes stories with dark humor.

• Some familiar stories:James and the Giant Peach

Matilda

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The BFG

Literary Element Used

• Foreshadowing:

the use of clues or hints suggesting

events that will occur later in the plot.

HINT: As you read “The Landlady” put yourself in the place of the main character (protagonist). Pay close attention to what Billy sees and senses.

Title

• A landlady is the owner of a “boarding house” • People pay to stay in her home. • They have their own room• She provides breakfast• Sometimes it is called “Bed and Breakfast”

“The Landlady”• Picture this: You’ve just

arrived in a lovely new town by train and your looking for a place to stay. You find a bed and breakfast that looks very enchanting (nice) on the outside. You decide to stop and look in the window. What do you think you might see?

Covington B & Bs

• http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/louisiana-covington-camelliahousebedandbreakfast.html

• http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/louisiana-covington-bluewillowbedandbreakfast.html

SettingBath, in the south of England, in the 1950’s

Bath has many famous old buildings

In the 1950’s, not many people had cars. They travelled by train, by bus and on foot.

In the 1950’s men wore hatslike this. This hat is called a trilby.

Setting The story takes place in Bath, England probably during the mid-1900s.

Pubs

Pubs are places whereBritish people go to drink beer and other alcoholicdrinks

There is usually a sign to show the name of the pub. Some pubs have very strange names.

Predicting the characters

• There are two characters in the story:– Billy Weaver (a businessman)– The Landlady

• How do you imagine them? What do you think they will be like?

Characters

• Protagonist is seventeen year old Billy Weaver

• Owner of the Bed & Breakfast, The Landlady

Paragraphs 1-4• What time of year and day is it?

– Winter (very cold)– Dark (nine o’clock, moon is rising)

• What do we learn about Billy?– seventeen years old– never been to Bath before, knows nobody there– all his clothes are new– he is starting a new job– he is ambitious and wants to be a successful

businessman– his company did not provide a place for him to stay

Paragraphs 5-8

• What did Billy notice about the house?– sign– flowers in window

• Why did the house seem a nice place to stay?– comfortable, warm, cozy– animals are “always a good sign”

• Do you think Billy should stay at the boarding house or go to the pub?

Paragraphs 9-16

• How does the writer describe the landlady at first? Does she seem nice?– forty-five or fifty– warm, welcoming smile– round pink face– gentle blue eyes

• What things seem strange about the boarding house and the landlady?– the sign seemed to pull

Billy inside– landlady appears

immediately at the door– no other hats, coats etc– everything is always ready– bed sheets turned back

Paragraphs 17-20

• What does the landlady remember about Mr. Mulholland and Mr. Temple?– tall, handsome– young– beautiful skin (Mr. Temple)– liked tea (Mr. Mulholland)

• What is the landlady’s hobby?– taxidermy (stuffing dead animals)

• What do you think happened to Mr. Mulholland and Mr. Temple?

Questions for discussion

• How do your feelings about the landlady change as you read the story?

• How does Billy feel about her? Are his feelings different from yours?

• Why does Billy’s tea taste of almonds?

• What do you think will happen to Billy?

Poison???????

• Bitter almonds smell like cyanide because they contain cyanide, but sweet almonds smell primarily of benzaldehyde (which most people associate with the aroma of cherries... almond and cherry flavoring extracts rather famously smell nearly identical).

Taxidermy