47 pages • 1 hour read
Agatha ChristieWitness for the Prosecution
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1995A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Quiz
Reading Check, Multiple Choice & Short Answer Quizzes
Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.
Reading Check
1. How does the author characterize Mr. Mayherne’s reputation?
2. For what crime is Leonard Vole on trial?
3. In his interview with Leonard, what does Mr. Mayherne ask regarding finances, and why is this central to his defense?
4. What complicates Leonard’s defense that he did not take any money from Emily French?
5. In Mr. Mayherne’s first meeting with Romaine, what does she reveal about the night of Emily French’s death?
6. What reason does Miss Mogson give for wanting to reveal the truth about Romaine?
Multiple Choice
1. How does Leonard act in his first meetings with Mr. Mayherne?
A) Leonard acts aloof.
B) Leonard acts dazed.
C) Leonard acts angry.
D) Leonard acts dismissive.
2. According to Leonard, how did his friendship with Emily French begin?
A) Emily French invited Leonard to her home.
B) Leonard asked Emily if they could meet again.
C) Leonard’s wife Romaine pushed him to track Emily down.
D) Leonard’s wife Romaine arranged their first meeting.
3. What reason does Leonard give for continuing his friendship with Emily despite their age and economic gap?
A) Emily seemed sad and lonely, so he felt bad for her.
B) Despite circumstances, Leonard fell in love with Emily.
C) Leonard has a hard time saying no to people.
D) Leonard hoped that their friendship would lead to job opportunities.
4. How does Miss French’s maid Janet feel about Leonard?
A) Janet feels bad for Leonard.
B) Janet feels bitter towards Leonard.
C) Janet is jealous of Leonard.
D) Janet is in love with Leonard.
5. In the first round of the trial, what information serves as Mr. Mayherne’s only opportunity to prove Leonard’s innocence?
A) Leonard has no motive for the murder.
B) Emily French’s maid Janet had more to gain from Emily’s death.
C) Leonard and Emily had a true friendship, which points to his innocence.
D) Mr. Mayherne can use Emily French’s nephew as a scapegoat.
6. How does Mr. Mayherne figure out that Miss Mogson and Romaine are the same woman?
A) He notices that they speak with the same foreign accent.
B) He notices that they have the same strange hand gestures.
C) He notices that they have the same height and body build.
D) He notices that they gave the same address.
Short-Answer Response
Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How did Leonard Vole meet Emily French?
2. In his interview with Leonard, what does Mr. Mayherne find positive about the way Leonard answers his questions?
3. Why does Mr. Mayherne believe Leonard’s claim that Emily French was more interested in him than he was in her?
4. What is Janet’s accusation against Leonard? How does Leonard refute her claim to Mr. Mayherne?
5. Why didn’t Leonard tell Emily about Romaine?
6. Why does Mr. Mayherne convince himself that the note he receives from Miss Mogson is not a hoax?
7. What reason does Romaine give Mr. Mayherne for lying about Leonard?
Quizzes – Answer Key
Reading Check
1. Mr. Mayherne’s reputation is characterized as “very high,” and he is known for not being a fool. (Paragraph 2)
2. Leonard is on trial for murder. (Paragraph 4)
3. Mr. Mayherne asks Leonard if Leonard ever transferred Emily’s money to his own accounts. This is important to the case because it would provide motive and make Leonard seem like an opportunist. (Paragraph 42)
4. Leonard’s defense that he was not after Emily French’s money is complicated by the fact that she had changed her will to leave all her assets to Leonard. (Paragraph 48)
5. In her first meeting with Mr. Mayherne, Romaine claims that Leonard arrived home the night of the murder past ten o’clock with blood on his coat, and that he confessed to her that he killed Emily French. (Paragraph 150)
6. Miss Mogson tells Mr. Mayherne that she has no problem revealing Romaine’s character as conniving because the two women had been in competition for Leonard’s affections many years before. Miss Mogson wants revenge. (Paragraph 223)
Multiple Choice
1. B (Paragraph 8)
2. A (Paragraph 14)
3. C (Paragraph 32)
4. B (Paragraph 58)
5. D (Paragraph 182)
6. B (Paragraphs 259-260)
Short-Answer Response
1. Leonard met Emily French when he saved her life. She was crossing the street, dropped her packages, and didn’t notice the bus coming towards her. Leonard jumped in to get her to the curb and recovered her packages. (Paragraph 12)
2. In his interview with Leonard, Mr. Mayherne appreciates Leonard’s “plain speaking.” Leonard seems to have good judgment, and Mr. Mayherne notes that he answers all questions satisfactorily. (Paragraph 30)
3. Mr. Mayherne believes Leonard’s claim that Emily French was more interested in him than he was in her because he “knew something of the mentality of elderly ladies.” He assumes that Emily became infatuated with Leonard, who is young and good-looking. He further assumes that Emily asked Leonard to help her with her finances to make him feel like a man, rather than reveal she had the upper hand economically. (Paragraph 39)
4. Janet accuses Leonard of being in the house with Emily moments before Janet found her dead. Janet heard a man’s voice in the room with Emily the night she died. Leonard refutes the idea that this man was him because he returned home to his wife by 9:30, which was before Janet found Emily dead. (Paragraphs 61 and 64)
5. Leonard kept the reality of Romaine away from Emily because he worried that Emily would be less likely to help him if she knew that she was supporting a couple instead of a single man. He kept Romaine a secret so that Emily would help him with money that he could use to help Romaine. (Paragraph 97)
6. Mr. Mayherne convinces himself that the note from Miss Mogson is not a hoax because it implies the only hope for Leonard’s acquittal. If Mayherne can prove that Romaine is not to be trusted, then her testimony against Leonard will be dismissed. (Paragraph 188)
7. Romaine tells Mr. Mayherne that she lied about Leonard to help save him. She knew that a devoted wife’s testimony would be useless, but Leonard has been a good friend to her. Her loyalty to Leonard inspired her to twist the facts of the trial. (Paragraph 271)
Related Titles
By Agatha Christie
