Readers Place

About the Book

Far from the gentle slopes of the Hundred Acre Wood lies The Red House, the setting for A.A Milne s only detective story, where secret passages, uninvited guests, a sinister valet and a puzzling murder lay the foundations for a classic crime caper. And when the local police prove baffled, it is up to a guest at a local inn to appoint himself Sherlock Holmes and, together with his friend and loyal Watson , delve deeper into the mysteries of the dead man. The Red House Mystery is a lost gem from a time before Tigger and a perfectly crafted whodunit with witty dialogue, deft plotting and a most curious cast of characters.

Starting Points for Discussion

Please note that the questions reveal the plot.

• ‘There was no point in looking for a difficult solution to the problem, when the easy solution had no flaw in it. But at the same time Birch would have preferred the difficult solution, simply because there was more credit attached to it.’ Why did Inspector Birch not think to formally identify the body found in the room or craft any alternative theories about the murder and Mark’s disappearance?

• The novel allows the reader scope to direct suspicion at a number of characters. Inspector Birch certainly suspects Antony Gillingham. Who did you suspect at first?

• Were you shocked to learn the true nature of the mystery at the end of the novel?

• Cayley’s crime was almost perfect – Mark Ablett would have almost certainly been the prime suspect, his reputation forever tarnished and his memory never mourned, in the case of Robert’s (his own) murder. Why do you think Cayley confesses to Antony so readily at the end of the novel?

• Did you pity Cayley? Do you think he was driven by love for Miss Calladine or by revenge for Mark?

• Bill Beverley plays the roll of the very naïve ‘Watson’ and Antony Gillingham the suave ‘Sherlock Holmes’. Do you think that the classic murder mystery would be complete, or as entertaining, without the ubiquitous Sherlock and Watson duo?

• The Red House Mystery was Milne’s first and last attempt at writing detective fiction – why do you think he chose never to write another crime novel, even though he had a passion for detective stories? Was it because of the success of Winnie-the-Pooh or because he felt he had conquered the detective fiction genre with The Red House Mystery ?

• At various points in the novel, the narrator pauses and addresses the reader directly, for example when Antony Gillingham first appears in the story: ‘He is an important person to this story, so it is well we should know something about him before letting him loose in it’. Do you think this is Milne’s subtle acknowledgment that the story is ultimately a light-hearted piece of entertainment rather than an attempt to create a serious murder mystery with a water-tight plot and infallible characters?

• Detective fiction, including The Red House Mystery , has been criticised for having improbable plots and flat, predictable characters. Do you think that this is necessarily true?

Other Books by A. A. Milne

• 

  The Red House Mystery

  Far from the gentle slopes of the Hundred Acre Wood lies The Red House, the …

  Reading Guide

Suggested Further Reading

• The Moving Toyshop ~ Edmund Crispin
• Love Lies Bleeding ~ Edmund Crispin
• Holy Disorders ~ Edmund Crispin
• Cargo Of Eagles ~ Margery Allingham
• The Mind Readers ~ Margery Allingham
• The Case Of The Late Pig ~ Margery Allingham
• The Hound of the Baskervilles ~ Arthur Conan Doyle