Horace Danby is a character from the story “A Question of Trust” by Victor Canning. He is a 50-year-old unmarried man who lives with his housekeeper. On the surface, Horace appears to be a good and respectable citizen, known in his town as a talented locksmith. He runs a successful business and is considered honest by those who know him.
Physical Appearance
- Age: Horace is about fifty years old.
- Health: He suffers from hay fever during the summer, which causes him to sneeze when he is near flowers.
Personality Traits
- Respectable: Horace is seen as a good and honest man by his neighbors.
- Secretive: Despite his outward respectability, Horace has a secret life as a burglar. Once a year, he commits a carefully planned robbery to finance his passion for collecting rare and expensive books.
- Meticulous Planner: Horace is very careful in his planning. He studies his targets thoroughly and takes precautions to avoid leaving any evidence, such as wearing gloves to prevent fingerprints.
- Passionate: He has a deep love for rare and expensive books, which drives him to commit theft to acquire them.
- Naive: Despite his intelligence, Horace can be naive, as shown when he is easily deceived by a woman pretending to be the lady of the house he is robbing.
Behavioral Characteristics
- Non-Violent: Horace is not a violent person. He commits his crimes without causing harm and has a fear of going to prison.
- Cautious: He takes great care to ensure that he does not leave any clues behind during his burglaries, such as avoiding leaving fingerprints.
Role in the Story
In “A Question of Trust,” Horace Danby plans to rob a house named Shotover Grange. During the robbery, he is confronted by a woman dressed in red, who pretends to be the lady of the house. She convinces Horace to open the safe for her, claiming she needs the jewels for a party that night. Trusting her, Horace opens the safe without wearing gloves, leaving his fingerprints behind. Later, it is revealed that the woman was actually another thief. Horace is arrested because his fingerprints are found at the crime scene, leading to his imprisonment.
Key Points
- Horace Danby is a 50-year-old locksmith who appears respectable but leads a secret life as a burglar.
- He commits one robbery each year to fund his passion for rare and expensive books.
- Horace is meticulous in his planning and takes precautions to avoid detection.
- Despite his careful nature, he is deceived by a woman posing as the homeowner, leading to his arrest.
Horace Danby’s character highlights the theme that appearances can be deceptive, and even those who seem respectable may harbor hidden secrets.
