The Mousetrap Questions and Answers
The Mousetrap
Who is the killer in The Mousetrap?
The murderer comes to the guesthouse where snowbound visitors are trapped. He calls himself Sergeant Trotter and says he is a police investigator. In fact, he is only pretending to be a police...
The Mousetrap
Who is the murderer in The Mousetrap? Please provide evidence.
In a surprise ending to the play, the murderer is revealed to be police detective Trotter. However, Trotter is an assumed name, and the man is actually not a police detective at all. It comes out...
The Mousetrap
What are the red herrings in Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap?
A red herring is literally a smoked herring fish. Smoking a herring turns its flesh red. Samuel Pepys of diary fame in England in the 1660s records that one day he ate red herring for breakfast...
The Mousetrap
Contrast Agatha Christie's use of the red herring in The Mousetrap and Murder on the Orient Express.
Agatha Christie is well known for using red herrings in her work. A red herring is a misleading set of clues or circumstances that lead the reader to false conclusions. The term "red herring" comes...
The Mousetrap
Who is the character of Major Metcalf in the play The Mousetrap? What are some examples from his dialogue and body...
Agatha Christie's classic who-done-it, The Mousetrap, is celebrating its 67th year (eight months shy of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II) of being the longest-running play in the world, with over...
The Mousetrap
In The Mousetrap, why did Georgie Corrigan (sergeant Trotter) kill those victims and attempt to kill Mollie Ralston?
Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap begins with the murder of Maureen Lyon. Then the scene shifts to Monkswell Manor, where a young couple, Giles and Mollie Ralston, welcomes their guests. Among...
The Mousetrap
What are the age ranges for the characters in Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap?
The ages of the characters in Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap play a key role in the plot. The initial murder in the play is the revenge of a mistreated foster child, George Corrigan, for the...
The Mousetrap
Describe Mrs. Boyle in The Mousetrap.
In Agatha Christie's murder mystery play The Mousetrap, Mrs. Boyle is one of the guests at Monkswell Manor, an old home newly-refurbished as a guest house. Mrs. Boyle is a pompous, pretentious,...
The Mousetrap
What is the significance of the title, "The Mousetrap"?
Christie's play began as a radio play titled Three Blind Mice. She had to give it a new title when she adapted it for the stage because there was already a play with that name. The new title, The...
The Mousetrap
When do Gilles and Mollie meet in The Mousetrap?
In Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap, Giles and Mollie Ralston have been married almost exactly one year. They had met at a dance in London only three weeks before their marriage, as Mollie...
The Mousetrap
What was Christopher Wren found hiding behind in The Mousetrap?
In 1947, famed mystery writer Agatha Christie wrote a half-hour radio play, Three Blind Mice, which was broadcast as part of an evening of radio programs in honor of Queen Mary of England's...
The Mousetrap
What is a plot summary of the play The Mousetrap?
In The Mousetrap, the action occurs at Monkswell Manor, where Mollie and Giles Ralston are preparing for the arrival of their dinner guests, fretting over the effect the blizzard raising outside...
The Mousetrap
Please give a short summary of the events of act 1, scene 1 and 2, in The Mousetrap.
The play opens in act 1, scene 1, with news of a murder in London where the murdered person was heard screaming as the tune "Three Blind Mice" played. Meanwhile, in the country, Mollie and Giles...
The Mousetrap
Why is the play The Mousetrap so popular?
That's a very good question and one that successive generations of critics have been asking themselves. To date, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap has been running continuously in London's theater...
The Mousetrap
Why does Giles say, "we are rather mugs at this game"?
In The Mousetrap, newlyweds Giles and Mollie Ralston have inherited a large estate called Monkswell Manor. The action of the play takes place in its Great Hall. To generate some regular income,...
The Mousetrap
What kind of special effects were used in play The Mousetrap? Fake snow, the sound of blowing wind, a fireplace, a...
The setting for Agatha Christie’s murder mystery play The Mousetrap is the Great Hall of a house in the UK called Monkswell Manor, which has been converted to a guest house. Many of the props and...
The Mousetrap
Is The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie appropriate to teach to a class of 13- to 14-year-old kids?
This play may be difficult for ESL students with all the idioms and references to cultural knowledge. I would go with something like Amy Tan's excerpts of her books and then watch the film,...
The Mousetrap
In The Mousetrap, why does Christopher Wren say, "there's something very boorish about the English husbands"?
The architect Christopher Wren is the first paying guest at Mollie and Guy's new guest house. Immediately, Christopher and Mollie hit it off, though Guy is somewhat nonplussed, with the...
The Mousetrap
Why was Major Metcalf in the cellar when Mrs. Ralston screamed?
Another brutal murder has taken place at 24 Culver Street; Mrs. Boyle has been strangled. Already on the scene due to investigate the murder of Maureen Lyon, Sergeant Trotter questions all of the...
The Mousetrap
The voice on the radio says, "Motorists are warned against ice-bound roads." In the light of this statement, comment...
On the first day of the opening of Monkswell Manor, the winter weather has resulted in dangerous, icy conditions. A severe snowstorm is occurring outside as Mollie and Giles Raston prepare for the...
The Mousetrap
It takes about four hours to stage the Mousetrap for a play; is there a way to cut it down to about 2 1/2 hours?
Are you factoring in your breaks and the times you stop to give direction? Have you done a run-through, in which you do the play from start to finish with no breaks? That will give you a good sense...
The Mousetrap
Why don't the English women enjoy recieving compliments?
In an early scene of Agatha Christie’s hit play, The Mousetrap, the quirky young man Christopher Wren is the first guest to arrive at a newly opened guesthouse called Monkswell Manor. The...