A
QUESTION OF TRUST — Complete Study Guide
By
Victor Canning | ASSEB HSLC 2027 — Class X English
1.
About the Author
Victor Canning (1911–1986) was a British novelist known mainly for his thrillers and adventure stories. He was a quiet, private writer—he never wrote his memoirs and rarely gave interviews. Like many of his stories, "A Question of Trust" is built around suspense, irony, and a clever twist at the end.
2.
Setting and Central Idea
- Setting: A house
called Shotover Grange, on a warm July night.
- Central Idea: The story
is about two thieves who happen to meet during the same robbery. One
tricks the other completely. It raises the old question: "Is
there honour among thieves?" The story answers—no, there
isn't. A person's outward respectability can hide a completely different
reality, and trusting a stranger blindly can be dangerous.
3.
Detailed Summary (for long-answer writing)
Horace Danby was a fifty-year-old, unmarried man who looked, in every way, like an honest and respectable citizen. He ran a successful lock-making business, employed two helpers, and lived comfortably with a housekeeper who fussed over his health. His only physical weakness was an occasional attack of hay fever in the summer.
But Horace had one secret. Once every year, he robbed a house. He was not a violent man—he carried no weapon and never hurt anyone. He targeted only wealthy people, and he stole only to fund his real passion: collecting rare and expensive books, which he could never openly show anyone because owning them would give away his secret. Fifteen years earlier he had been caught once and had served a prison sentence.
This year, Horace had carefully planned to rob the safe at Shotover Grange, the home of a Mr. Jasmin, who was away in Europe. Horace had studied the house and the family in detail beforehand—a habit that had kept him safe from the police for years. He broke in confidently, wearing gloves, and located the safe. Just as he was about to open it, a young woman in a red dressing gown appeared. She said she had heard a noise and come to investigate.
Rather than raising an alarm, the woman calmly told Horace that she knew he was a burglar—but instead of calling the police, she made him an offer. She said there were some important documents inside the safe that she urgently needed, documents that did not belong to her uncle but had been placed there by mistake. She pleaded with Horace to open the safe for her, promising that in return she would not report him.
Horace, cornered and wanting to avoid trouble, agreed. Using his professional skill, he opened the safe. Inside, along with other things, was a valuable diamond necklace. The woman quickly took out a small envelope of "papers" (or so Horace believed) and also, without his noticing clearly at the time, the necklace. She then asked Horace for his gloves, saying she needed them to wipe away any fingerprints from the safe and the room, since she did not want anyone to know that she had opened it either. Trusting her completely, Horace handed over his gloves and left the house, believing he had gotten away safely, without having stolen anything for himself.
A few days later, Horace was arrested. To his shock and disbelief, he learned the truth: the woman had used Horace to open the safe for her—since she was not skilled enough to crack it herself—and had then walked away with the diamond necklace, leaving Horace's fingerprints as the only evidence at the scene (because she had taken his gloves, supposedly to wipe things clean, but really to make sure the fingerprints on them, and possibly inside the gloves, could be traced to him). Horace, the seasoned burglar, had been completely outwitted by a cleverer criminal who understood exactly how to use trust as a weapon.
4.
Theme / Message
- Appearances can be deceptive—both Horace (an "honest" citizen) and the woman (an
"innocent niece") are not what they seem.
- There is no honour among thieves—Horace trusted a fellow criminal and was betrayed.
- Trust must be earned, not given blindly—misplaced trust leads to Horace's downfall.
- Crime does not pay—however clever or careful a criminal is, the consequences eventually
catch up.
- Irony runs
through the story: a burglar who prides himself on never being caught is
caught precisely because he trusted someone; a man who wanted to avoid
trouble ends up in worse trouble because he tried to be
"helpful."
5.
Character Sketches
Horace
Danby
- Outwardly a
respectable, successful, and honest-seeming businessman (locksmith).
- Secretly a
skilled, non-violent burglar who robs a safe once a year.
- Motivated
not by greed for money but by his passion for rare books.
- Cautious
and meticulous in planning, yet ultimately naïve—he trusts the
"niece" too easily.
- A
non-violent character: carries no weapon, avoids harming anyone, dislikes
confrontation.
- His
downfall shows that even careful, experienced people can be deceived when
they let their guard down.
The
Woman in Red
- Confident,
calm, and quick-thinking under pressure.
- A skilled
manipulator—she invents a believable story on the spot and stays
composed throughout.
- A
professional thief herself, but far more cunning than Horace—she uses him
as a tool to get past the safe, then betrays him.
- Represents
the idea that deception can come from the most unexpected, charming
source.
6.
Glossary (Difficult Words)
|
Word |
Meaning |
|
Hay
fever |
An
allergy causing sneezing/itching, usually from pollen |
|
Burglar |
A
person who breaks into a building to steal |
|
Convenience |
Being
able to do something without difficulty |
|
Sharp-tongued |
Speaking
in a harsh or critical way |
|
Tricked |
Deceived
by clever or cunning means |
|
Housekeeper |
A
person employed to manage a household |
|
A
strong locked box or cabinet for storing valuables |
|
|
Regarded
by society as honest and decent |
7.
Textbook-Style Question & Answer Bank
A.
Very Short Answer Questions (1 mark)
Q1. What was Horace Danby's profession?
ANSWER: He was a successful locksmith who ran his own business.
Q2. What was Horace Danby's real weakness/secret passion?
ANSWER: He had a secret passion for rare and expensive books, and he robbed a safe once a year to buy them.
Q3. Where did Horace go to commit the robbery in the story?
ANSWER: He went to a house called Shotover Grange.
Q4. Who did Horace meet inside the house?
ANSWER: He met a young woman who pretended to be the niece of the house's owner.
Q5. What did Horace ask the woman for/give her at her request?
ANSWER: Horace gave her his gloves, believing she wanted to wipe off fingerprints.
Q6. Why was Horace finally arrested?
ANSWER: He was arrested because his fingerprints were found at the scene—the woman had made sure of this by taking his gloves.
B.
Short Answer Questions (3–4 marks)
Q1. How was Horace Danby regarded by the people around him, and how far was this true?
ANSWER: Horace Danby was seen by everyone as a good, honest, and respectable citizen—a successful businessman who made locks and lived a quiet, comfortable life. This image was only partly true. In reality, Horace led a double life: once every year, he carried out a carefully planned burglary. He was not violent and never stole from ordinary people, but he was, in truth, a skilled and experienced thief.
Q2. Why did Horace Danby commit robberies?
ANSWER: Horace did not steal for money in the ordinary sense. He had a deep passion for collecting rare and expensive books, and since he could not afford them through his regular income alone, he committed one robbery a year purely to fund this hobby.
Q3. How did the woman in red convince Horace to open the safe for her?
ANSWER: When she found Horace at the safe, instead of alarming the household, she calmly claimed to be the niece of the owner and said that some important documents belonging to her, kept in the safe by mistake, needed to be retrieved urgently. She promised not to report him if he helped her, which persuaded the cautious Horace to open the safe for her.
Q4. Why can the story be seen as ironic?
ANSWER: The irony lies in the fact that Horace, an experienced burglar who had successfully avoided capture for years through careful planning, was finally caught not because of a mistake in his own plan but because he trusted another criminal. The very safe he broke into to steal from ended up being opened by his own hands for someone else's benefit, and the "help" he offered led directly to his arrest.
Q5. What does the title "A Question of Trust" suggest about the story?
ANSWER: The title points to the story's central idea—that trust, once given carelessly, can be dangerous. Horace trusted the woman's story completely and even handed her his gloves, not realising she was using him. The story questions whether trust can ever safely exist between two people who are both hiding the truth, especially among criminals, and shows that misplaced trust leads to serious consequences.
C.
Long Answer Questions (5–6 marks)
Q1. Give a character sketch of Horace Danby.
ANSWER: (See Section 5 above—expand each point into full sentences for the exam.) Horace Danby was a fifty-year-old, unmarried, and outwardly respectable man who ran a successful lock-making business. Society viewed him as thoroughly honest, yet he secretly committed one burglary every year, driven not by greed but by his love of rare books. He was careful, methodical, and non-violent, always planning his robberies in detail and avoiding any harm to others. However, his carefulness did not extend to reading people accurately—his readiness to trust the woman at Shotover Grange, purely because she seemed harmless and spoke convincingly, revealed a naïve, trusting side beneath his cautious exterior. This combination of caution in planning but carelessness in judging character ultimately caused his downfall.
Q2. Narrate, in your own words, how Horace Danby was tricked at Shotover Grange.
ANSWER: (Use the Detailed Summary in Section 3 above, focusing on the events from when the woman appears to when Horace hands over his gloves and leaves the house, then is arrested days later.)
Q3. "There is no honour among thieves." Discuss with reference to the story.
ANSWER: The old saying suggests that criminals, though dishonest with the rest of society, are expected to be loyal and trustworthy to one another. This story disproves that idea. Horace, a thief himself, extended trust to a fellow criminal purely because she appeared to be an innocent young woman in trouble. Instead of thanking him or honouring their unspoken understanding, she used his skill to open the safe, took the valuable necklace, and made sure that his fingerprints—not hers—would be found at the scene. Her betrayal shows that self-interest, not honour, governs the world Horace belongs to and that even among people who share the same "profession," trust is a serious risk.
D.
Value-Based / HOTS (Higher Order Thinking) Questions
Q1. What lesson can we learn from Horace Danby's experience?
ANSWER: We learn that no one should place blind trust in a stranger, however convincing their story may be, especially in unfamiliar or suspicious situations. Trust should be built gradually and based on evidence, not on someone's confident manner alone. The story also reminds us, more broadly, that dishonest actions—however carefully planned—tend to catch up with a person eventually.
Q2. Do you think Horace Danby deserved sympathy despite being a thief? Give your opinion with reasons.
ANSWER: (This is an opinion-based question—answer in your own words with reasons on both sides.) One could argue Horace deserved some sympathy because he was non-violent, stole only from the wealthy, never physically hurt anyone, and was himself a victim of a more ruthless criminal's deception. On the other hand, one could argue that sympathy is misplaced because he was, after all, a repeat offender who broke the law knowingly for personal gain. A balanced answer should acknowledge both his human, relatable qualities and the fact that his actions were still illegal and wrong.
8.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) for Quick Revision
1. Horace Danby's profession was: a) Doctor b) Lock-maker c) Teacher d) Police officer → (b)
2. Horace stole to fund his passion for: a) Cars b) Paintings c) Rare books d) Jewellery → (c)
3. The robbery in this story took place at: a) Shotover Grange b) Baker Street c) Jasmin Villa d) Red House → (a)
4. The woman who met Horace claimed to be the owner's: a) Daughter b) Wife c) Niece d) Sister → (c)
5. What did Horace give the woman before leaving? a) His keys b) His gloves c) His wallet d) His coat → (b)
6. Horace was arrested: a) On the same night b) A few days later c) Immediately at the house d) Never → (b)
9.
Quick Revision Points (Night-Before-Exam Summary)
- Horace
Danby = respected locksmith by day, secret annual burglar by night.
- Motive for
stealing = love of rare, expensive books, not money itself.
- Robs
Shotover Grange; meets a woman claiming to be the niece.
- She tricks
him into opening the safe "for documents," takes the necklace, and takes his gloves.
- Horace is
arrested days later—betrayed by a fellow thief.
- Theme:
appearances deceive; trust must be earned; no honour among thieves; crime
doesn't pay.
Tip for HSLC 2027: For long-answer questions, always write summaries and character sketches in your own words rather than memorising set lines—examiners award marks for clarity of understanding, not word-for-word recall.
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