The Landlady

Before Reading
The Characters
There are two principal characters in the story 'The Landlady' - the landlady herself, and Billy
Weaver,
short story about a young a young
man who arrives man
in an arriving in city
unfamiliar an unfamiliar
one evening city and
and is looking for a place to stay. He seems irresistib y attracted to
looking for accommodation. Billy is 17 years old,
optimistic and innocent. The landlady is middle aged with
a friendly and welcoming manner; but does she have a a
sinister motive?
l
The story draws on similarities with certain European folk
tales which start with young children being taken in by n
apparently well-meaning adults ('Hansel and Gretel' or
'Babes in the Wood' being a prime example). Is the
house where Billy sees the sign 'Bed and Breakfast'
enchanted? Does the landlady have magical, witch-like powers? Or is it all in the
imagination?

Billy Weaver

Billy Weaver is introduced right at the beginning of the story, and we learn the following about
him immediately:

"Billy was seventeen years old. He was wearing a new navy-blue overcoat, a new brown
trilby hat, and a new brown suit, and he was feeling fine. He walked briskly down the
street. He was trying to do everything briskly these days. Briskness, he had decided, was
the one common char cteristic
a of all successful businessmen. The big shots up at the
Head Office were absolutely fantastically brisk all the time. They were amazing."

"He had never been to Bath before. He didn't know anyone who lived there. But Mr
Greenslade at the Head Office in London had told him it was a splendid town. 'Find your
own lodgings,' he had said, 'and then go along and report to the Branch Manager as soon
as you've got yourself settled.'"

brisk: active; lively

big shots: important, successful colleagues
Bath: City of Roman origins in the west of England

From the information given above, answer these questions by choosing the best answer, A, B, C or D

1. The weather was most likely

A rainy B hot C cold D foggy

2. The work Billy did was probably

A on the assembly line of a factory B on a building site C as a hairdresser D in an office

3. The important people at the Head Office

A intimidated Billy B admired Billy C inspired Billy D bored Billy

4. Billy was
A starting a new job B moving to a new post with the same company C running away from his
old job D managing a new branch for his company

The Landlady - Before Reading 1

5. The Head Office had
A expected him to find his own accommodation
B suggested some alternative accommodation
C not been able to find accommodation
D arranged a place for him to stay

QUESTION: If you were seventeen years old and being sent to do some work for a
company in an unfamiliar town, would you expect the company to organise
accommodation for you in advance or not?

The Landlady

The landlady herself - we never discover her name - is clearly described in the story. The
physical description paints a fairly detailed picture.

"She was about forty-five or fifty years old, and the moment she saw him she gave him a
warm welcoming smile."

"She had a round pink face and very gentle blue eyes."

"She seemed terribly nice. She looked exactly like the mother of one's best school-friend
welcoming her into the house to stay for the Christmas holidays."

s
"He noticed that she had mall, white, quickly moving hands and red finger-nails."

Make a list of the adjectives used above which give us a positive feeling for the landlady.

Can you find any adjectives that give us a negative feeling about her?

An observation by Billy Weaver

Billy gets an immediate impression that, nice as she is, the landlady is also a little bit strange.
This is how he thinks of her after two minor incidents:

"The old girl is slightly dotty, Billy told himself. But at five and sixpence a night, who gives a
damn about that?"

"Now, the fact that his landlady appeared to be slightly off her rocker didn'tworry Billy in the
least. After all, she was not only harmless - there was no question about that - but she was
obviously a kind a generoussoul."

In the passages above, which two expressions mean that the landlady is a little bit crazy,
according to Billy?

1 2
Your version of The Landlady

You have briefly met the characters. Build your own story about them by answering the
following questions (the answers are in your imagination!) Work in small groups to work out
your own version of the story 'The Landlady' before you read Roald Dahl's version.

1. What was Billy doing in Bath, arriving for the first time, in Bath one cold evening?

2. What did he ask the porter at the railway station?

3. What attracted Billy to look in the window of the house along the street?

4. What made him ring the doorbell of the house?

5. Why was the owner of the house expecting him?

6. What was strange about the names in the guest book?

7. What did the two pets – a dog and a parrot – do when he entered the sitting room?

8. How did the landlady treat Billy when he asked about the names in the guest book?

9. What did the landlady offer to Billy?

10. How does your story end?