Lesson plan
Payment Deferred
Payment Deferred is a crime novel by C.S. Forester, first published in 1926. William Marble is a bank clerk living in south London with a wife, Annie, and two teenage children, Winifred ('Winnie') and John, desperately worried about money. One evening without warning they are visited by his recently orphaned and very rich young nephew, James Medland, who has a large amount of cash on him. Unable to resist the opportunity put in his way, William Marble sends his wife to bed early that night, saying that he wants to talk business and suggests she pleads a headache so as not to seem unsociable. He then slips poison in his nephew's drink, killing him, and William buries him in the back garden under cover of darkness that night. Some lucky foreign-currency speculation with his ill-gotten gains brings William Marble untold fortune. Annie assumes at first that her husband was given or lent the money by James, and she says that now they can afford it, she wants them to move to a better house with an attractive garden. He is unable to move for fear of anyone discovering the terrible secret, hardly dares to leave the premises for fear that somebody will disturb the garden, and his character is transformed by what he has done. Eventually Annie stumbles on the truth, but feeling that her husband still loves her, despite their dreary life together, she keeps her own counsel.…
Article summary
Payment Deferred is a crime novel by C.S. Forester, first published in 1926. William Marble is a bank clerk living in south London with a wife, Annie, and two teenage children, Winifred ('Winnie') and John, desperately worried about money. One evening without warning they are visited by his recently orphaned and very rich young nephew, James Medland, who has a large amount of cash on him. Unable to resist the opportunity put in his way, William Marble sends his wife to bed early that night, saying that he wants to talk business and suggests she pleads a headache so as not to seem unsociable. He then slips poison in his nephew's drink, killing him, and William buries him in the back garden under cover of darkness that night. Some lucky foreign-currency speculation with his ill-gotten gains brings William Marble untold fortune. Annie assumes at first that her husband was given or lent the money by James, and she says that now they can afford it, she wants them to move to a better house with an attractive garden. He is unable to move for fear of anyone discovering the terrible secret, hardly dares to leave the premises for fear that somebody will disturb the garden, and his character is transformed by what he has done. Eventually Annie stumbles on the truth, but feeling that her husband still loves her, despite their dreary life together, she keeps her own counsel.…
Key claims
- publication date: 1926 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- The record states that the publication date is "1926". What evidence would count against this claim?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1359450980
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.