Examine the characters of Mrs Maloney in ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ and Roylott in ‘The Speckled Band’, both are clever about the way they hide the evidence of their crimes. Why does Mrs Maloney get away with it while Roylott doesn’t

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Wider reading coursework

The Speckled Band by Sir Authur Conan Doyle

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl

Examine the characters of Mrs Maloney in 'Lamb to the slaughter' and Roylott in 'The Speckled Band', both are clever about the way they hide the evidence of their crimes. Why does Mrs Maloney get away with it while Roylott doesn't?

Roald Dahl first published 'Lamb to the slaughter' in 1954; it is the story of a murder committed by a housewife upon hearing some presumably bad news from her husband.

'The Speckled Band' was first published at the much earlier date of1892, making it somewhat difficult for the younger reader to grasp. 'The Speckled Band' tells the story of a violent, eccentric character named Roylott who murdered his step daughter in order to acquire a portion of the inheritance intended for her.

'The Speckled Band' is quite typical of the detective story genre in that it portrays Roylott as the stereotypical villain, whom we can assume from the beginning, will be caught by the end of the text. The mystery being finding the actual evidence of how the crimes were committed. 'Lamb To the slaughter' however