40 Fun Facts About Lamb to the Slaughter

Which spy novelist, a friend of the author, came up with the plot of Lamb to the Slaughter?

Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, suggested a wife who kills with frozen meat and then feeds it to the detectives. The two men had worked for British intelligence in wartime America.

Which much-loved children's author also wrote the adult short story Lamb to the Slaughter?

Roald Dahl published it in 1953, years before Matilda or The BFG. His stories for adults are known for dark humour and a sting in the final lines.

Which famous film director turned Lamb to the Slaughter into a 1958 episode of his own television series?

Alfred Hitchcock directed it himself, which he did for only 17 episodes of his anthology series. The story's own author wrote the script.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, how does Mary Maloney react as she listens to the detectives eating in the next room?

She giggles, and that is the story's final image. One of the men, his mouth full, has just guessed that the missing weapon is somewhere very close by.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, which drink does Mary Maloney persuade the detectives to accept while they are on duty?

Whiskey is what the sergeant pours, first for Mary and then, against the rules, for himself. It takes the edge off a search that is going nowhere.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, what news does Patrick Maloney give his wife shortly before she kills him?

He is leaving her, although the narrator never reports his actual words. Readers piece it together from his awkward talk of money and of avoiding a fuss.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, what does Mary Maloney do with the frozen leg of lamb straight after the killing?

She puts it in the oven, so the weapon is already roasting when help is called. By the time the house is searched it looks like nothing more than supper.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, whose safety makes Mary Maloney decide to cover up what she has done?

Her unborn child is her first thought: Mary is six months pregnant and has no idea what the law does with an expectant mother who kills.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, what do the detectives believe the killer used on Patrick Maloney?

A blunt metal object is the sergeant's theory, and he tells Mary that finding it will lead them to the killer. Nobody thinks to look at the roast.

The saying behind the title Lamb to the Slaughter, about going meekly towards harm, comes from which book?

The Bible uses the image in the Book of Isaiah, for a servant who goes to his death without protest. In the story it is the husband who never sees the blow coming.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, where does Mary Maloney go to fetch the leg of lamb she plans to cook?

The cellar holds the couple's deep freeze, and she takes the first thing her hand finds. A biographer has called the plot one of the first to depend on a home freezer.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, in which room do the detectives sit down to eat the leg of lamb?

The kitchen is where the men eat, while Mary sits listening in the living room. She had pressed the roast on them as a favour to her.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, what does Patrick Maloney do with his first drink that tells Mary something is wrong?

He drains it in one swallow, with at least half still in the glass, then pours a second that is far stronger. Until that moment the evening had followed the couple's usual routine.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, what is Mary Maloney doing as she waits for her husband to come home?

Sewing keeps her hands busy while she watches the clock. The cosy opening, with two lamps lit and two glasses set out, makes what follows all the more shocking.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, on which day of the week do the Maloneys usually go out to eat?

Thursday is the couple's regular night for eating out, which is why Mary has nothing cooking. It also gives her a reason to dash to the shop for vegetables.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, what is the name of the grocer whose chat with Mary Maloney becomes her alibi?

Sam is the shopkeeper, and a detective later calls on him to check Mary's story. He confirms that she seemed her ordinary cheerful self.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, which vegetables does Mary Maloney buy from the grocer to go with the roast?

Potatoes and peas are what she asks for, telling the shopkeeper there is not a vegetable in the house. The errand exists only so that someone sees her acting normally.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, which dessert does the grocer persuade Mary Maloney to take home for her husband?

Cheesecake is the shopkeeper's idea for afterwards, and Mary happily agrees. Her husband has been dead for some minutes by then, which makes the small talk chilling.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, where does Mary Maloney rehearse her smile and her voice before visiting the grocer?

At her mirror, Mary practises greeting the shopkeeper until it looks and sounds natural. The killing was done in a daze; the cover-up is planned with care.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, where is Patrick Maloney standing, with his back turned, when Mary strikes him?

By the window, he does not even turn round as she walks up behind him. One swing to the back of the head is enough to kill him.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, where does Mary Maloney suggest the detectives look for tools that might be the weapon?

The garage is her helpful answer when she is asked about heavy tools around the house. It sends the search outdoors while the real weapon sits roasting.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, which sergeant, a friend of the family, looks after Mary Maloney during the search?

Jack Noonan knows Mary well and keeps checking on her through the evening. The 1958 television version promoted the character to lieutenant.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, which punishment does Mary Maloney assume she will face for killing her husband?

The death penalty is what she expects, and for herself she thinks it would almost be a relief. That cool acceptance marks the moment her shock gives way to clear thinking.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, what does the narrator hold back about Mary Maloney's husband until after he is dead?

His first name, Patrick, is not used until Mary chats to the grocer after the killing. Before that the story calls him simply her husband, or he.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, what proves to be genuine when Mary Maloney comes home and sees the body again?

Her tears are real: the sight of him on the floor brings back how much she loved him. She had braced herself to act the part and finds there is no need.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, which relative of Mary Maloney do the detectives offer to take her to?

Her sister is suggested, and so is the sergeant's own wife, but Mary insists on staying in the house. Throughout, the officers treat her as a widow to be comforted, never as a suspect.

In Lamb to the Slaughter, what does Mary Maloney do for her husband the moment he comes through the door?

She hangs up his coat, then mixes the drinks: a strong one for him and a weak one for herself. This small ritual is the part of the day she looks forward to.

Lamb to the Slaughter, in which detectives eat the evidence, is often given as an example of which genre?

Black comedy finds laughs in grim subjects, here a murder weapon served up as supper. The author brought the same taste for nasty surprises to his children's books.

Which literary device is at work in Lamb to the Slaughter when readers know what the detectives are really eating?

Dramatic irony means the audience knows something the characters do not. Here readers know exactly where the weapon is while the experts hunting for it have no idea.

Before writing Lamb to the Slaughter, what was its author's job in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War?

Fighter pilot was his wartime role, and he survived a crash-landing in the North African desert. He was later posted to the British embassy in Washington, where he began to write.

Which famous American magazine turned down Lamb to the Slaughter, along with four other stories by its author?

The New Yorker passed on it, although it printed several of his other stories in the early 1950s. The rejected one became among the best known he ever wrote.

Which long-running American monthly first printed Lamb to the Slaughter in its issue of September 1953?

Harper's Magazine took the story after another magazine had turned it down. Launched in 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly in the United States.

Which 1953 short story collection by the author of Lamb to the Slaughter includes the tale?

Someone Like You gathered eighteen of his stories for adults, and thousands of copies had been sold by Christmas. Many of its stories were later filmed for television.

Which prize from the Mystery Writers of America went to the 1953 collection containing Lamb to the Slaughter?

The Edgar Award, named after Edgar Allan Poe, came in 1954. The same writer went on to collect two more, the last for a television episode in 1980.

The author of Lamb to the Slaughter wrote the screenplay for which James Bond film starring Sean Connery?

You Only Live Twice reached cinemas in 1967. A year later he shared the screenplay credit on a very different film, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Which actress, later Miss Ellie in Dallas, played Mary Maloney in the 1958 television Lamb to the Slaughter?

Barbara Bel Geddes made four appearances in the series, and the same year played Midge opposite James Stewart in the film Vertigo.

In the 1958 television Lamb to the Slaughter, the host says Mary was later caught trying to kill whom?

Her second husband was spared, the host explains, because the freezer had not been plugged in. Network rules of the time would not let a killer escape justice on screen.

Which British anthology series, introduced on screen by the author, adapted Lamb to the Slaughter in 1979?

Tales of the Unexpected ran on ITV until 1988, and its first two series carried the author's name in the title. He introduced most of his own stories in person.

Which booming-voiced Flash Gordon actor played the lead detective in the 1979 television Lamb to the Slaughter?

Brian Blessed played the detective a year before he roared his way through Flash Gordon as the winged Prince Vultan.

Which Spanish director borrowed the twist of Lamb to the Slaughter, with a ham bone, for a 1984 film?

Pedro Almodóvar has a worn-down housewife fell her husband with a leg of ham in What Have I Done to Deserve This? The police never work it out there either.