The Landlady

The Landlady is a short story by Roald Dahl, included in his 1960 collection Kiss Kiss. It was originally published in the 28 November 1959 edition of The New Yorker.

Related Topics:
Short story - Roald Dahl - 1960 - Kiss Kiss - 28 November - 1959 - The New Yorker

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The story focuses on a 17-year old boy named Billy Weaver, who, when looking for a place to stay, notices a bed and breakfast and steps in. He rings a bell and the middle-aged landlady appears. She treats him generously, giving him a floor of his own to stay on, and charging him much less than he expected. However, she also exhibits a sense of creepiness, which although apparently Billy does not catch, appears quite evident to the reader. In the logbook he sees that only two other guests have stayed there, both younger boys, and both having arrived over two years earlier. Billy finds the names familiar from the newspaper, and on further reflection considers that they "were both famous for the same thing". Suspicion continues to generate in the reader when the landlady makes a comment about one of the two boys in past tense, to which Billy comments that he must have only left recently. The landlady replies that he never left, and nor had the other. Also, the tea which Billy drinks exudes a faint odor and a slight taste of bitter almonds, a trait present in cyanide. Another premonition arrives when Billy notes that the dog by the fireplace is stuffed, to which replies she did it herself. He finds this an impressive accomplishment on her part, and she tells him that "I stuff all my pets myself when they pass away." Much like the fashion of other pieces in the collection, the story ends soon afterward, leaving the remainder of the encounter to the reader's imagination.

Related Topics:
Bed and breakfast - Landlady - Creepiness - Newspaper - Past tense - Cyanide

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