The writer makes us become suspicious of other people or animals by naming the book ‘The Speckled Band’ the writer made me, be suspicious of the gypsies, because they are always playing music and having fun. The writer always reminds of the animals Dr Roylotte brought from India.
In the Landlady the main character Billy comes to Bath on a business trip and had to find his own place to stay. He saw a notice in a window which read ‘Bed and Breakfast’ so he rang the bell but before he could take his finger off the bell the door opened and there was a woman standing there. She said “please come in” and she said a room would cost five and six pence a night. Billy thought it was so cheap that he couldn’t say no to it. He thought it was strange when he went to take his coat off because there were no other coats or umbrellas evident Billy thought the Landlady was out of the ordinary but he didn’t really care because the room was very cheap. He goes down to sign the book and he notices that there are only two names and feels that he has heard the names before but does not remember when or where. Again Dahl, like Doyle before him has engaged the readers’ attention through the use of creating a sense of mystery. This encouraged me to read on in order to learn what is to follow.
Both of the stories maintain suspicion until the end. The murders in each are similar in some ways but different in others because Dr Roylotte uses an animal to murder his daughter but the landlady uses poison instead. Dr Roylotte is very strict and loud
whereas the landlady is very pleasant and quiet. But both of them are sneaky as they give no clues of their intention until the stories are nearly finalised.
Both of the authors delay the ending to a certain extent and create suspense, which is crucial to the stories as it makes you want to read on. In The Speckled Band the murders and the murder weapon is not known until the end of the story but in The Landlady it’s never known if Billy dies or not. The story is never resolved. The stories are similar because they are both about murdering someone. They contrast because in The Speckled Band, there is a detective looking for the murderer and in The Landlady the murder is just about to take place or maybe it doesn’t take place. In The Speckled Band we know of the murder from the beginning, whereas in The Landlady our imagination is taxed.
The Landlady begins without giving any clues about the ending and the plot gradually reveals as it progresses. In both stories some clues are given as to how the story will end. In The Speckled Band it says that there are gypsies that live near by so it could have been one of them. In The Landlady, when Billy signs the register he notices two names, ‘Christopher Mullholland’ and ‘Gregory W. Temple’ and he can remember their names because he thinks he’s heard them before.
So both stories have important points which signal that intrigue is to follow. The stories use their titles differently. Doyle disguises the conclusion by hinting at the gypsies as ultimate culprits when, in fact, the stepfather commits the crime by using a snake as a weapon. Dahl, on the other hand, suggests that the landlady will be the guilty one but we never actually have this confirmed.
Both stories include dialogue which increases immediately but the movement in The Speckled Band accelerates towards the end which heralds the readers de-mystification. In The Landlady the pace remains consistent throughout and we are left suspended at the close.
