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'A Question of Trust' by Victor Canning tells the story of Horace Danby, a respectable locksmith who commits theft annually to fund his love for rare books. His last robbery fails when he is deceived by a young woman posing as the owner's wife, leading to his arrest due to fingerprints left behind. The tale illustrates the fragility of trust and the consequences of deception, even among those who consider themselves dishonest.

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21 views8 pages

english ppt

'A Question of Trust' by Victor Canning tells the story of Horace Danby, a respectable locksmith who commits theft annually to fund his love for rare books. His last robbery fails when he is deceived by a young woman posing as the owner's wife, leading to his arrest due to fingerprints left behind. The tale illustrates the fragility of trust and the consequences of deception, even among those who consider themselves dishonest.

Uploaded by

ausome.2289
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A Question

of Trust
-By Victor Canning
About the Author
Victor Canning (16 June 1911 – 21 February
1986) was a prolific British writer of novels
and thrillers who flourished in the 1950s,
1960s and 1970s. He was personally reticent,
writing no memoirs and giving relatively few
newspaper interviews.
His initial writing work started with short
stories. His first novel, Mr. Finchley
Discovers His England, was a best
seller. Following by its success, he wrote
thirteen more novels in the next six years
under three different names. He also wrote
articles for 'Daily Mail' which was a British
newspaper while continuing to write some
short stories. He married Phyllis McEwen in
Introduction
‘A Question of Trust’ is an interesting tale told by Victor
Canning. It is centered around Horace Danby who is
described as “a good, honest citizen”. He was good
and respectable but not completely honest. He broke
a safe every year in order to live comfortably and
read the books of his own choice. The story describes
his last robbery which fails and lands him into the
prison. This happens due to another thief who
possess as the mistress of the house and deceives
him. It is she who breaks the trust and proves to be
the actual culprit. It is said that there is honour
among thieves but she lacks this honour and falls in
Summary of the Chapter
Horace Danby was a good person. He was fifty years old but still
unmarried. Horace Danby was a locksmith. He was a very
successful businessman. He had two assistants to help him.
Being good and respectable, but he was not totally honest. He
was fond of rare and expensive books. He purchased them at
any cost. For this, he robbed safe only once in a year. He
purchased these books secretly through an agent. Before
making a theft, he chalked out plan well. This time he had
observed the house at Shotover Grange for two weeks. He
studied even the minute things about that house.
The family was now in London. The two
caretaker servants of the house had gone to the
movies. He jumped out from behind the garden
wall and came inside the house. He had taken a
key from the kitchen door hook. Then, he wore
gloves. He opened the door. He was very careful
enough to leave any fingerprints. There was a
vase of flowers on the table. The fragrance of
flowers tickled his nose. He sneezed out
repeatedly then, he heard the voice of a young
lady. She pretends to be the wife of the owner of
that house. She told him that she had come there
suddenly because she wanted her jewels to wear
them at the party in the night.
Danby requested the lady to let him go home. She asked him to
open the safe as she needed the jewels but she had forgotten
the number. Danby willingly opened the safe without gloves. The
young lady got the jewels. Horace Danby went away happily
because he had escaped from being imprisoned. On the third
day, a policeman had arrested him for the jewel robbery at Shot
over Grange.
His fingerprints were found at the robbed place. He confessed
that he had opened the safe for the young wife of the owner of
the house. But in reality, the owner’s wife was about sixty years
old. She said that the story was not true. No one believed
Danby. Now, the police arrested him. He was the assistant
librarian in the prison. He always thought of the charming,
young lady who was in the same profession as he was. Now he
didn’t believe in the thought of ‘honour among thieves.’
Conclusion
In the end, “A Question of Trust” shows us how
tricky lying and trusting others can be. Someone
Horace Danby thought he could trust tricks him,
even though he used to steal things himself. His
story teaches us that lying and trust are fragile,
even for people who break the rules.
Thank
you!!!!

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