English Readers
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Summaries
Part 1: Chapters 1–6
Part 3: Chapters 16–27
In the town of Marchbolt, the local vicar’s son Bobby Jones is
playing golf with Dr Thomas when they discover an injured
man. Thomas goes for help while Bobby stays and hears the
dying man’s words: ‘Why didn’t they ask Evans?’ He also
finds a photograph of a sad but beautiful woman in the man’s
pocket. As he waits, Roger Bassington-ffrench arrives and
offers to take Bobby’s place so that he will not be late for
church and his disapproving father. Later, Bobby meets his
old friend Lady Francis Derwent, and they discuss the death.
Amelia Cayman says the dead man is called Alex Pritchard,
and that she is his sister. She also says she is the woman in the
photograph. Bobby is amazed: how can the beautiful woman
in the photograph be the same woman as the unattractive
woman at the inquest? Mr and Mrs Cayman visit Bobby to
ask about Pritchard’s last moments. Bobby forgets to mention
his last words, but later he remembers and writes to tell them.
Two strange events follow: Bobby gets a rare job offer from
South America, which he turns down because he decides to
work for his friend Badger; then he becomes ill after drinking
some beer.
The woman comes to find Bobby in Staverley and tells
him she is Moira Nicholson and that her husband has
tried to kill her several times. When Bobby asks about the
photograph in Carstairs’ pocket she admits that she knew
him a long time ago. It is Moira’s idea to ask Roger about
the photograph. Roger says he removed the photograph
of Moira, because he knew her, and feared a scandal,
but he denies putting the photograph of Cayman in its
place. Henry kills himself because it seems that he can no
longer cope with his addiction, and Moira goes missing.
Trying to find a motive for Carstairs’ murder, Bobby and
Frankie think that Carstairs may have been suspicious of
Savage’s death, so Frankie asks her own lawyer, Spragge.
She discovers that he too knew Carstairs! Spragge tells her
that Savage had been living with Mr and Mrs Templeton
when he killed himself and had left them £700,000. The
Templetons then left the country. Carstairs had indeed
been suspicious of the death and the will but Spragge told
him nothing could be done. When Frankie returns to
Staverley, Bobby is missing. She follows him to a cottage,
where they are both kidnapped by Roger, who is disguised
as Dr Nicholson. Badger helps them to free themselves.
Roger escapes, but they manage to rescue Moira, who had
been drugged.
Part 2: Chapters 7–15
Bobby’s beer had been poisoned with morphia, and Frankie
believes someone was trying to kill him. In the newspaper,
Bobby sees the photograph of Amelia Cayman found on
Pritchard, and tells Frankie that it is not the same photograph
that he saw on the dying man. They guess that Bassingtonffrench must have changed the photograph and that he and
the Caymans are doing something illegal to get money. Using
her aristocratic connections Frankie finds Roger Bassingtonffrench living with his brother, Henry, a drug addict, and
sister-in-law, Sylvia, in Merroway Court, a house near the
village of Staverley. She pretends to have a car accident so
that she can get into Merroway. Frankie shows Sylvia the
photograph of the dead man from the newspaper and Sylvia
says he looks like someone she knew called Alan Carstairs;
Frankie is convinced they are the same man. Carstairs was a
good friend of the famous millionaire John Savage. People
say that John committed suicide because he thought that
he had terminal cancer. At Merroway, Frankie also meets
the suspicious Dr Nicholson, who runs a sanatorium for
drug addicts, and Moira, his beautiful wife. Roger wants
Henry to go to Nicholson’s sanatorium for treatment. Bobby
investigates the sanatorium and meets a worried, confused
woman – the same woman that was in the photograph in the
dying man’s pocket. She runs off before he can investigate
further.
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Part 4: Chapters 28–32
While investigating Savage’s will, Bobby and Frankie
discover that the witnesses were the Templetons’ cook
and gardener, and hardly knew Savage. The maid, Gladys,
who knew Savage, was not asked to be a witness because
she would realize that the man making the will was not
Savage, but Roger. He was forging the will so that Mrs
Templeton would get Savage’s fortune, and share it with
Roger. When they find out Gladys’s name was Evans,
the dying man’s question becomes clear. Frankie and
Bobby also discover that Evans is now a maid at Bobby’s
father’s vicarage. This explains why Carstairs was in the
area looking for Evans, and why someone tried to murder
Bobby, because he might connect the events with Evans.
When Frankie and Bobby return to the vicarage they meet
Moira. She says Roger is trying to kill her but really she
wants to poison them. Frankie stops her and Moira is taken
away by the police. Roger escapes to South America, and
writes Frankie a letter. He explains everything, and admits
he murdered Henry, and that Moira pretended to be Mrs
Templeton. Frankie and Bobby get engaged.
1
English Readers
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Classroom Activities
Part 1 (Chapters 1–6)
These are some extra words, where do they fit? (Expand/
reduce this list as appropriate to the level.)
Before reading
1Guess
The title of this story is actually the last words that a dying
man says. The rest of the story explains what they mean. In
small groups, try to guess the story. Why did the man die?
Who are ‘they’? Who is Evans? Why does a man use his last
words to say that name?
2Speaking
Give the students these three famous ‘last words’. Emily
Dickinson – ‘The fog is rising…’; Ludwig van Beethoven –
‘Friends applaud, the comedy is over’; Winston Churchill –
‘What a fool I have been!’. Students discuss what their own
last words should be. Write them on the board, then students
discuss and vote on which are the best under different
headings: the saddest, the funniest, the strangest.
3Research
This story starts with a game of golf. Divide students into
small groups. Give each group a piece of paper, and one
minute (timed!) to write down as many sports as they can
think of. Students write their lists on the board. The group
with the most gets a round of applause. Next, give each
student a piece of paper with a well-known sport (the teacher
can augment the results with some other sports or games –
maybe card games, board games, popular children’s games,
etc.). Students mingle and describe their sport to another
student without saying the name (a good opportunity to
practise relative clauses and passives: ‘This is a sport which is
played by ...’) – the other student must guess the sport/game.
Students then swap papers and find a new partner. Finally,
assign each student a sport/game, and tell them to research the
topic so that they can speak for 3 minutes about it in small
groups, and answer questions. Students should explain the
rules, and may use diagrams and pictures if they want.
After reading
4Language
Either on a handout or on the board, write these categories:
face nose mouth eyes
eyebrows ears
hair
age 'look'
round, square, long, with high cheekbones, flat, small,
wide, thin, laughing, sad, thick, piercing, dull, bushy,
sticking out, big, wavy, bald, thick, stubble, in his/her
teens/twenties/thirties/etc., kind, cruel, hazel
Give students a piece of paper folded in two. They use the
words above to draw an ‘identikit’ face. Then they describe
it to their partner, who has to draw the face on the other
half of their paper. Students then swap roles. Extension:
bring in magazine pictures or similar, and have students
choose a person in the picture, and describe them. Their
partner must guess who it is.
5Comprehension
1Why did the man die?
2Why does Bobby have to leave the body?
3What reason does Bassington-ffrench give to explain
why he is in the area?
4How did the police identify the dead man?
5When Mr and Mrs Cayman meet Bobby after the
inquest, what does Mrs Cayman want to know?
6Can you explain Bobby’s father’s words ‘A thousand? It’s
impossible!’?
7Why did Bobby forget to tell the Caymans the dead
man’s last words?
8What does Bobby’s beer taste like? What does he do next?
6Listening
See if you can remember if the following statements are
true or false. If false, add the correct information. Then
listen to Chapter 4 and check your answers.
1_____ There were signs on the body that another person
had attacked him.
2_____ The injuries can be easily explained if he fell onto
the rocks below the cliff.
3_____ The body shows clear signs of suicide.
4_____ Bobby heard a cry for help.
5_____ Amelia Cayman says she is Alex’s sister-in-law.
6_____ She last saw him the day before he died.
7_____ Amelia Cayman and her husband were very rarely
in England.
8_____ The jury decided that the death was an accident.
Tell the students to put these words from the story in the
correct categories (some may fit more than one).
healthy-looking, with a deep suntan, curly, brown, a strong jaw,
attractive, clear, deep blue, fair, wide-apart, a slight sadness, young,
under thirty, middle-aged, honest, cheerful, weak, moustache
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
2
English Readers
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Classroom Activities
Part 2 (Chapters 7–15)
Before reading
1Speaking
Bobby likes Frankie, but feels they cannot be really good
friends because they come from different social classes.
(Students can check the Cultural notes at the back of the
book for more information about the British class system.)
Frankie even jokes ‘Nobody looks at a chauffeur the way they look
at a person’! (p. 33) Is this true now, do you think? What social
classes exist in the students’ own countries? How can you
distinguish the different classes? Have things changed in the
last few decades? Is there a difference between an upper-class
person and a rich person? Are all upper-class people always
rich? Is it possible to change your social class?
2Playing detective
This story is all about identities. The list below has been
filled in with information from Part 1 (Chapters 1-6).
Students can update the information when they read Part 2
(Chapters 7-15), to help them solve the case. The entries in
italics are information we find out during Part 2. Elicit this
information from students after they have finished reading.
Who?
What do we
know?
What do they look
like?
Roger
Bassingtonffrench
was looking at
houses; charming,
no real job, often
goes abroad
about thirty-five,
weak face, no
moustache
The dead
man
prospector abroad, healthy-looking,
rarely in England
deep suntan, curly
brown hair, strong
jaw, attractive face,
clear deep blue eyes
wide-apart eyes,
under thirty, slightly
sad beauty
The woman
in the photo
Henry
Bassingtonffrench
married to Sylvia,
has a son, strange
eyes with small
pupils, very moody,
a drug-addict
Dr Jasper
Nicholson
Canadian, clever,
very impressive,
runs a nursing
home for drugaddicts, attractive
attractive, thick
glasses, pale blue
eyes
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Moira
Nicholson
likes tennis,
charming, may be
English, unhappy,
nervous, adores
or is scared of her
husband
lovely, big, slightly
sad eyes, twentyseven, slim, delicate,
beautiful
Alan
Carstairs
Canadian explorer,
friend of the
Rivingtons and the
millionaire John
Savage
looks like the dead
man
After reading
3Comprehension
These are Frankie and Bobby’s theories after Bobby sees
the photograph in the newspaper. Have students complete
the sentences by choosing the correct ending to match
Frankie and Bobby’s theories. Do students agree with their
logic?
1The dead man must have been murdered because
2Roger must have pushed the man over the cliff
because
3Roger must have changed the photograph because
4Roger must have wanted to keep the man’s real
identity secret because
5The Caymans must have only pretended to be the
dead man’s relatives because
6The Caymans must have sent Bobby the job offer
because
7The Caymans must have used poison because
8The police think Bobby’s poisoner must have been a
madman because
9‘Why didn’t they ask Evans?’ must have had an
important meaning because
a) they cannot find a motive.
b) they were from a much lower social class than him.
c) there’s no other reason to kill Bobby.
d) they knew it would confuse the police.
e) it arrived just two days after he told them about the
dying man’s last words.
f) no one else was alone with the dead man.
g) he later changed the photograph.
h) when Bobby told the Caymans, they tried to trick him,
and then kill him.
i) he changed the photograph.
3
English Readers
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Classroom Activities
Part 3 (Chapters 16–27)
Before reading
1Speaking
Recap for the students: Frankie feels Bassington-ffrench is
innocent, although he must have exchanged the photograph.
She feels that Dr Nicholson is guilty of something, however.
On the day of the murder, Roger Bassington-ffrench was
in Staverley, and Dr Nicholson was not at the sanatorium.
Frankie and Bobby think the dead man must be the Canadian
Alan Carstairs. They need to find out what he knew, what he
was doing, and why he had the photograph of the woman on
him. Ask the students what they would do next to investigate?
Give students these three scenarios to discuss. Which is most
likely? Which is least likely? What is the evidence?
1 Roger and Dr Nicholson are working together to steal
Henry Bassington-ffrench’s money.
2 Dr Nicholson is the head of a drug-dealing gang, and Alan
Carstairs was investigating him.
3 Mr and Mrs Cayman are behind everything, and the others
are innocent.
2Speaking
In this section, both Bobby and Frankie decide to trust people,
and tell them the truth.Who do you think they will trust? Why?
What are the advantages of trusting people? What are the dangers?
3Listening
Listen to the conversation between Bobby (who is pretending
to be Mr Spragge, a lawyer) and Mrs Rivington. Decide
whether these statements are true or false. Correct the
statements that are false.
1 The Rivingtons last saw Carstairs two weeks ago.
2 Carstairs knew the Bassington-ffrenches well.
3 The Rivingtons took him to see the Bassington-ffrenches.
4 Carstairs seemed to dislike them.
5 Carstairs seemed upset on the way back to London.
6 Carstairs asked lots of questions about Mr Rivington and
his wife.
After reading
2When Bobby returns from London to Staverley, who
does he find waiting for him?
3Why does she think her husband wants to kill her?
4Why do Frankie and Bobby feel they are like characters
in a book or play?
5Why does Bobby ask Badger to pull off one of Bobby’s
boots?
6How does Badger know that Roger is a good actor?
7What other important thing does Badger know about
Roger?
8Why do they leave Roger alone in the bedroom after
they capture him?
Have students discuss and then vote on which one of these
questions gives us the most important clue. Why do they
think that?
5Vocabulary
touched-up
heiress
chauffeur
shock
well-off
concussion
deceased
commit suicide
poison
M’lady
barmaid
crash
whisper
exchanged
butler
blurred
fixed
sad
call
wreckage
murder
Angler’s Arms
groan
desperate
upper-class
tragedy
landlord
cook
pub
shout
pessimistic
maid
Match the words to the groups. The teacher can do this on
the board, or by writing the groups on big pieces of paper,
and the words on small pieces. Divide the words between
the students and let them match.
1
2
3
4
photograph
aristocratic
gloomy
servant
accident
beer
scream
die
6Follow-up activity
Explain the game to the students: With a partner, choose one
of the words above and explain it, BUT you can’t use any of the
words on the same line! See if your partner can guess the word.
e.g. ‘It’s something to do with rich people. It’s when...’ or ‘It’s
someone in a house who cleans’, etc.
4Comprehension
1Why does Bobby pretend to be a lawyer?
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
4
English Readers
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Classroom Activities
Part 4 (Chapters 28–32)
Before reading
1Writing
This story was based on Alan Carstairs’s last words. At first,
Bobby thinks they can’t be important. Frankie thinks ‘Tell
Gladys I always loved her’ or ‘the will is in the wooded desk’
would be better last words! In pairs, have students think of
some mysterious ‘last words’, said by a dying man or woman.
They exchange with another group, then have to imagine
and write the outline of a story explaining the words. When
they have finished, let the students look at the stories (copy
them or put them on the classroom wall), and vote on them
under different categories, for example: the most exciting, the
funniest, the best English, the craziest, the saddest, etc.
2Speaking
We now have a lot of information. Have students compile
four lists as below, then in small groups or pairs, explain what
has happened so far, and to speculate on how it will end.
Places
Heroes
Marchbolt, Wales Bobby
Merroway Court, Frankie
Staverley
Badger
London
Chipping,
Somerton
Villains
Others
Roger
Bassingtonffrench
Mrs
Templeton
Alex Pritchard /
Alan Carstairs
Moira Nicholson
Dr Nicholson
John Savage
After reading
3Language
Frankie loves playing with words (Bobby talks about her
‘bloodthirsty instincts’!). She often puts two words together
that usually do not match, but make sense in this situation,
and are very funny. Ask students to explain these examples:
• ‘romantically poisoned’ (p. 22) Frankie does really like Bobby,
and if someone wants to kill him that makes him more of a
hero.
• ‘boringly straightforward’ (p. 44) The jury at the inquest
decided the man died in a common accident.
• Roger does the same when he finishes his letter with: ‘your
affectionate enemy’ (p. 101) Roger seems to really like Frankie,
but he was willing to kill her to save himself.
Put the words in the box on the board, or on cards so all the
students can see them. Then students choose one pair and act
out the meaning, in small groups. Other team members have
to guess which pair it is. Then give each pair of students a
pair from below, and ask them to think up a situation where
they could say this. Share with the class. The most creative
combination wins.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
reluctantly + brave
authoritatively + wrong
illegally + good-looking
casually + violent
violently + happy
guiltily + innocent
sarcastically + polite
respectfully + rude
4Speaking
The characters in this story often say they feel as though
they are in a play or a novel. Frankie wonders if John
Savage’s death was the beginning of the play. When they
are tied up inside Tudor Cottage, they wonder if they are
reaching the end of the play. If the book was written now,
they would probably talk about being in a movie.
• Elicit movie genres, and titles of movies in these genres.
Each student chooses one movie, and then has to
describe it to another student. The other student has to
guess the movie. Keep changing partners.
• Then ask the students what kind of movie they would
like their lives to be.
• Do they think this story would make a good movie?
Divide the students into groups. Each group must decide
who would play the main characters, and if they would
modernize it, or leave it as it is. Why?
5Comprehension
Many of the characters in this book make use of people’s
personalities to make them do what they want.
Write the name of the character (1 to 5) and then choose
what happens (a to e).
Who...
1...has more beauty than brains ................................. ___
2...enjoys disagreement ............................................. ___
3...has a weakness for aristocratic names .................... ___
4...needs a job, even if it is surprising ......................... ___
5...trusts Bobby, even if he asks her to put herself in
danger ..................................................................... ___
What happens...
a) ...but has already agreed to work with his friend.
b) ...so he is willing to forgive that one of Frankie’s
friends impersonated him.
c) ...so he is willing to tell Frankie about the Bassingtonffrench family if he can win an argument with her!
d) ...so Roger can trick her easily by forging a note from
Bobby.
e) ...so she would agree to something rather than admit
she didn’t know about it.
(If students need more help, here are the page numbers:
1 p. 57, 2 p. 30, 3 p. 75, 4 p. 16, 5 p. 80)
5
English Readers
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Answer Key (Classroom Activities)
Part 1 (Chapters 1–6)
1Guess
Answers will vary.
7 F The dead man was very rarely in
England.
8T
5Vocabulary
Part 2 (Chapters 7–15)
2Speaking
Answers will vary.
1Speaking
Answers will vary.
3Research
Answers will vary.
2Playing detective
Suggested answers are included in the main table.
4Language
Suggested answers:
face
a strong jaw, honest, with a
deep suntan, weak, round,
square, long, with high
cheekbones
nose
small, wide, flat, big
mouth
thin, small, wide
eyes
clear, deep blue, wide-apart,
laughing, sad, hazel, piercing,
dull
eyebrows
bushy, thick, thin
ears
big, small
hair
curly, brown, moustache,
fair, stubble, sticking out,
bald, wavy, thick
age
‘look’
young, under thirty, middleaged, in his/her teens etc.
attractive, a slight sadness,
cheerful, healthy-looking,
kind, cruel
5Comprehension
1 His back is broken.
2 He promised his father he would play the
church organ at six o’clock.
3 He was looking at houses.
4 They used the photograph Bobby found in
the dead man’s pocket.
5 If Alex had any last words.
6 He doesn’t think his son could ever get such
a good job!
7 He thought they couldn’t be important.
8 Unusually bitter, but refreshing. He falls into
a heavy sleep.
6Listening
1 F There were no signs of violence made by
another person.
2T
3 F Suicide is possible, but there were no
signs on the body.
4 F Bobby heard a cry of surprise.
5 F She says she is his sister.
6T
Suggested answer: question 7 – it explains the
suicide note, the will, the letter to Frankie...
3Comprehension
1a
2g
3f
4i
5b
6e
7d
8a
9h
Part 3 (Chapters 16–27)
1Speaking
Answers will vary.
2Speaking
Answers will vary.
3Listening
1 F The Rivingtons last saw Carstairs a
month ago.
2 F Carstairs had never met the Bassingtonffrenches before.
3 T The Rivingtons took him to see the
Bassington-ffrenches.
4 F Carstairs seemed to like them.
5 T Carstairs seemed upset on the way back
to London.
6 F Carstairs asked lots of questions about
Dr Nicholson and his wife.
4Comprehension
(n.b. the order of the words isn’t important)
photograph:touched-up, blurred,
exchanged, fixed
aristocratic: upper-class, well-off, heiress,
M’lady
gloomy: pessimistic, sad, desperate,
tragedy
servant: butler, chauffeur, maid, cook
accident: concussion, shock, crash,
wreckage
beer: barmaid, pub, landlord, Angler’s
Arms
scream: groan, whisper, shout, call
die: deceased, murder, poison,
commit suicide
6Follow-up activity
Answers will vary.
Part 4 (Chapters 28–32)
1Writing
Answers will vary.
2Speaking
Answers will vary.
3Language
Answers will vary.
4Speaking
Suggested answers for movie genres: horror, thriller,
romantic comedy, drama, sci-fi, mystery, family,
comedy, action, etc.
Answers will vary.
5Comprehension
1 Mrs Rivington e
2 Frankie’s father c
3 Mr Spragge b
4 Bobby a
5 Frankie d
1 So that he can talk to the Rivingtons, who
might know about the dead man.
2 The woman in the picture – Moira Nicholson.
3 Because he wants to marry Silvia
Bassington-ffrench.
4 Because they feel that things are happening
for a reason, but they don’t know the reason.
They have no control.
5 So that Roger will think Bobby broke the
window, and not look for another person.
6 He went to university with him.
7 He can forge other people’s handwriting.
8 They are afraid there are other gang
members in the house.
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6