| Plot Summary of Death of a Woodlander |
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"Maigret is called to a tiny village lost in time, Vitry-aux-Loges, in the forest of Orléans. An old woman had been killed, Marguerite Potru, 62, stabbed to death. Her sister, Amélie Potru, 65, had numerous stab wounds, none serious. But since that time she'd refused to speak or leave her bed. Share certificates and valuable papers were found to be missing. The evidence, including especially fingerprints, suggested that Marguerite's son, Marcel Potru, a rough wood-cutter, was guilty, and he'd been arrested. But Maigret had understood the case completely before he even arrived. Amélie had killed her sister, then stabbed herself. She'd hidden the papers in an empty wine cask, which Maigret knew of from the drips of candle wax found nearby. It had been assumed that Marcel had gone in for a drink. Maigret assumed she'd read somewhere of fingerprints, and that had given her the inspiration of how to get rid of the two people she hated most, her sister and her nephew. Maigret lost little time in sawing open the empty cask, and revealing the "stolen" documents. "
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Death of a Woodlander |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- nearly 100%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, Foreign
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Genius (really!)
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 1
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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