Please read the overview and all the descriptions of the suspects before the party. Sometimes we hide clues in these descriptions.

Overview

The other night in the library, when many characters were out of their books enjoying a sojourn in the night air, a crime was committed, grim and grave, right in our own library. As a result his Majesty Henry VIII – that famous monarch from the English history books – has disappeared.

Gathered at this table are the characters who were present in the library at the time of the nasty deed. Fortunately Master Sherlock Holmes is here to investigate, so the perpetrator of this heinous crime will no doubt be revealed as the night proceeds.

The suspects

Alice

(from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll) “Wonderland was not my imagination. It was a wonderful dream – a dream filled with strange creatures.” I saw a White Rabbit looking at its watch and I followed it down a rabbit hole. I fell down a deep well, but I fell slowly so I had plenty of time to look at the jars of “Orange Marmalade” and such. I came to a bottle saying “Drink Me”, but “the bottle was not marked poison”, so I drank it. I “shut up like a telescope” till I was only “ten inches high”. Then I found a cake marked “Eat Me” and I ate it and grew very tall. My feet were so far away. Dress suggestions: Dress as a little girl with pig tails in your hair and rosy cheeks.

Huck Finn

(from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain) I’m a good boy – honest. Me Pap – he kidnapped me, but I escaped. But before I left, I killed me a pig and made it look like I’d been murdered. Then I hid on Jackson Island, but I found out I wasn’t alone – Jim had run away. So we floated down the river on a raft at night and slept and fished all day. On the way I got mixed up with some con artists – “the Duke and the King” I called ’em cause they pretended to be royals so I’d wait on them. But King Henry was a worse King than the one in my book. “He used to marry a new wife every day, and chop off her head next morning. And he would do it just liken he was ordering eggs.” “Fetch up Nell Glynn”, he says. They fetch her up. Next morning, “Chop off her head!” And they chop it off. “Fetch up Jane..” and so on. King Henry, why he was a plain villain. He kept trying to latch on to me, said I could be his son, but I wouldn’t have a bar of it. Dress suggestions: A country bumpkin with bits of hay sticking out of your old clothes and a beaten up old hat.

Cinderella

(from Cinderella) I am a merchant’s daughter. Then my mother died and my father remarried a widow with two grown daughters. Alas, when I met them, they treated me as a slave rather than as a step-sister. My step-sisters saw me covered in cinders after cleaning the fireplace and, my name being Ella, they gave me the nickname of “Cinder-ella”. After working all day on my chores, I often wondered if I would ever be happy again. The ladies of my household were invited to the Duke’s ball. But my step-mother said I could not go unless my chores were done. Fortunately, my Fairy Godmother came to my aid and – well, you all know the rest of the story. King Henry was fascinated by my glass slippers. I think he thought that if I had no slippers, that the Duke’s son would not find me in my fairytale and then I would be free to marry him instead. Dress suggestions: Dress like a princess with tinsel/glitter or as a servant covered in cinders.

Pinocchio

(from Pinocchio by Carlo Lorenzini – penname Carlo Collodi retold by James Riordan) When I was a puppet I lied a lot, but the Good Fairy taught me not to and to be good. ‘How stupid I was as a puppet. And how glad I am to be a real live boy.’ When I lied my nose became so long I ‘could not move without banging it against the walls or door.’ Geppetto sold his coat to buy me a spelling book for school. I sold it to go to the puppet theatre. Then I saved a puppet from being burnt by the showman and the showman gave me coins for my father. A fox and a cat told me they could multiply my money in “The Field of Miracles”. A bird and the ghost of the cricket tried to warn me not to. The evil fox and cat hung me in a tree to die, but the Good Fairy saved me. But I still let them fool me into burying my money so it would grow. They stole it. Later I became a donkey and ended up rescuing Geppetto from the belly of a whale with the help of the Good Fairy. King Henry thought that I was a silly puppet and he tried to fool me into being his slave. But the Good Fairy warned me that he was an evil man. Dress suggestions: A red jacket with a white frill-necked shirt. Make a pencil nose out of cardboard.

Snow White

(from Snow White by The Brothers Grimm) My step-mother was jealous of my beauty and asked a huntsman to do away with me. He took pity on me and let me run away into the forest and I came to the house of the dwarfs. I ate their porridge. They found me later asleep and asked me to stay and take care of them. But I am not a porridge thief like you Goldilocks, I only took a little from each bowl as I was fainting from hunger. And since then I have kept house for them, so I have repaid my debt to them. My step-mother asked her looking-glass `Who is the fairest of us all?’ and it told her I was living in the glen. Then my stepmother, plotted to get rid of me. She dressed as an ‘old pedlar woman’ and sold me some lace for my waist. Then she laced me up so tight, I `lost … (my) breath, and fell down as dead.’ Fortunately, the seven dwarfs soon returned and cut the lace in two, so that I could draw breath. The Queen knew I wasn’t dead because her mirror told me so, so she came again with a poisoned apple. The dwarfs thought I was dead. A prince saw me and carried me away. Then the apple fell out of my mouth and I came back to life and we married. King Henry kept trying to get me to marry him, but I refused. Dress suggestions: Old-fashioned clothes such as a drawstring sash at the waist, puffy sleeves, flouncy skirt. Black hair, red lips, white skin.

Peter Pan

(from Peter and Wendy by Sir James Matthew Barry) I live on an island inhabited by pirates, mermaids, fairies and Indians. On the island there are lots of fairies like Tinkerbell. “When the first baby laughed for the very first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about and that was the beginning of the fairies.” I taught the three children of the Darling family to fly so they could return with me to the island. We were trying to stop the evil pirate Captain Hook from going about his wicked ways. Then Captain Hook plotted to do away with me and he captured Wendy Darling, but I was able to save her. There is also a crocodile that follows us about that has a clock inside his belly going tick, tick, tick. King Henry was impressed with my victory over Captain Hook. Dress suggestions: A green cap, a green outfit and a toy sword.

Little Red Riding Hood

(from Little Red Riding Hood by various authors) I was on the way to visit my Grandmother when I met the wolf. We chatted about how I was visiting my Grandmother and I told him where she lived. Then he left me and I went to my Grandmother’s cottage. When I came inside my Grandmother’s cottage, I found that she looked very different from her usual self. The Big Bad Wolf locked my Grandmother in the cupboard. So I said to the Wolf who was sitting in bed dressed in my Grandmother’s nightgown, ‘Why, Granny…what big eyes you have got.’ And the wolf said, ‘The better to see you with, my child,’ imitating her voice. I won’t bore you with the rest as you have probably all heard the story. Most versions of the story end happily with my being saved from the wolf’s clutches by my father and the woodcutters. King Henry and the Big Bad Wolf had a lot in common. They were both men that little girls should stay away from. Dress suggestions: A red hooded cape with a dress beneath (possibly also in red). Carry some little cakes or cookies to take to your grandmother.

Robin Hood

(from Robin Hood by various authors) I am a wealthy man who has been forced to become a thief. I steal from the rich and give to the poor. The poor of England were being asked for too many taxes. The taxes were required to fund various political battles overseas. I simply gave back to the poor the money that they had had unfairly taken away from them in the first place. Little John and I met on a plank across a river. But he would not let me pass. He was a large man. He did not see why he should make way for me and so we did battle. He used his staff, but I was victorious in our skirmish. Afterwards, he came to know me and to be one of my main supporters. Dress suggestions: Dress in period clothes, a cape and a mask.

Goldilocks

(from Goldilocks and the Three Bears by various authors) I ate porridge at the bears’ house. The bears hadn’t locked their front door, so that’s permission to eat their porridge, isn’t it? I didn’t get much porridge anyway. Great Big Bear’s porridge was too hot, Middle-sized Bear’s bowl was too cold. So I had to eat Tiny Little Bear’s and his bowl is so small. Then I tried to find a comfortable chair to sit on, but Great Big Bear’s chair was too hard, Middle-sized Bear’s chair was too soft and Tiny Little Bear’s chair collapsed on me. I was getting tired after all this, so I went upstairs to find a bed to rest on. Great Big Bear’s bed and Middle-sized Bear’s bed both weren’t right for me. But Baby Bear’s tiny bed was perfect, so I got in. I didn’t even take my shoes off. King Henry kept saying I was a spoiled little girl and that if I was his child, he would lock me in the tower. The King had a chair in the library that he liked to sit on. It was large and I suppose it reminded him of his throne. Whenever he found me sitting in it, he got very angry. Dress suggestions: Cute little-girl clothes. Tie a ribbon in your golden hair and don a blue dress, a frilly white apron, red shoes and yellow socks.

Aladdin

(from The Adventures of Aladdin by various authors) I met a ‘mysterious stranger who said he would pay me a silver penny if I went down a manhole for him’. I found myself in a ‘large chamber… (filled with) pots of gold.’ ‘Put out the flame and bring me the lamp!’ he said. When I hesitated, he left me in there, dropping his ring in the chamber as he did so. Terrified, I put the ring on my finger and ‘twisted it round and round’. ‘Suddenly the room was flooded with a rosy light and a great genie with clasped hands appeared on a cloud’, and said he was at my command. I told the genie I wanted ‘to go home’ and immediately I found myself there. I told my mother of my adventures. She was a little disappointed I had returned with only the old oil lamp. But she started to polish it and ‘out shot another genie’. He said that we had set him ‘free after centuries’ and that he would be our servant. Things went pretty well after that and I married a beautiful princess. King Henry was jealous of my having a genie and even though he was already wealthy, he ordered me to give me to him but I refused. Dress suggestions: Wear middle eastern clothes (eg baggy trousers). Add sequins and jewels.

The optional authorities

Master Sherlock Holmes (from Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) – I am a man with such superior detective skills that I have become world famous. I already know a lot about each of the suspects, just from looking at their appearance. For example, I can tell Alice is a little girl with a very fanciful imagination and Aladdin is from the Far East. But, I am not a great reader of fiction, I prefer to do chemical experiments and I also play the violin. This certainly does not seem like a normal case. It is more like the Mr Angel case. You may like to read about it in my diary, if you get time. Dress suggestions: Dress in old-fashioned clothes, carry a magnifying glass and a pipe.

Dr Watson (from Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) – I am a skilled doctor but I am also a bit of a cynic and a non-believer until something is proved true. I have great respect for Sherlock Holmes. Dress suggestions: Dress in old-fashioned clothes.

The optional witnesses

Queen of Hearts (from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll) Oh there is so much to tell – all about the tea cups and my shouting “Off with his head! or “Off with her head” and all the other people Alice met in Wonderland, but it would take too long. Alice comes into the library and looks at the children’s books. Dress suggestions: Wear white & stick big red cardboard hearts on your clothes.

White Rabbit (from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll) `Silence in the court!’ I am a very busy rabbit. “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” Dress suggestions: As a white rabbit. Wear a waistcoat and have a pocket-watch hanging out of it. Consult it often. Also wear spectacles. Add a white fluffy bottom and some rabbit ears.

Mad Hatter (from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll) `If you knew Time as well as I do,’ `you wouldn’t talk about wasting IT. It’s HIM.’ `It’s always tea-time, and we’ve no time to wash the things between whiles.’ Dress suggestions: Wear a very large hat. Also carry a pocket watch in your waistcoat and a tea cup. Dunk the watch in the cup from time to time. Ask riddles you don’t know the answer to.

The Fairy Godmother (from Cinderella) After working all day on her chores, Cinderella often wondered if she would ever be happy again. The ladies of her household were invited to the Duke’s ball. But Cinderella’s step-mother said she could not go unless her chores were done. Fortunately, I came to Cinderella’s aid and – well, you all know the rest of the story. Dress suggestions: Dress like a fairy complete with wings and a wand with which to grant wishes.

The Queen (from Snow White by The Brothers Grimm) I dressed as an ‘old pedlar woman’ and sold Snow White some lace for her waist. Then I laced her up so tight, she `lost … (her) breath, and fell down as dead.’ Unfortunately, the seven dwarfs soon returned and cut the lace in two, so that she could draw breath. I knew she wasn’t dead because my mirror told me so, so I came again with a poisoned apple. The dwarfs thought Snow White was dead. A prince saw her and carried her away. Then the apple fell out of her mouth and she came back to life and they married. Dress suggestions: Dress as a queen with a crown and a long gown. Add a nasty face mask.

Tinkerbell (from Peter and Wendy by Sir James Matthew Barry) There is also a crocodile that follows us about that has a clock inside his belly going tick, tick, tick. I used my magic fairy dust to help Peter Pan and Wendy and the others to fly. On the island there are lots of fairies. “When the first baby laughed for the very first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about and that was the beginning of the fairies.” Dress suggestions: Dress as a golden fairy with a little bell you always ring as you move about.

Maid Marian (from Robin Hood) Although I am a lady, I am also able to fight like a man. I love Robin dearly. Dress suggestions: Although you are a lady when you want to be, you should don trousers, a frilly shirt and carry a bow and arrow or a sword.

The Grandmother (from Little Red Riding Hood) The Big Bad Wolf locked me in the cupboard. So Little Red Riding Hood, said to the Wolf who was sitting in bed dressed in my nightgown, ‘Why, Granny…what big eyes you have got.’ And the wolf said, ‘The better to see you with, my child,’ imitating my voice. I won’t bore you with the rest as you have probably all heard the story. Most versions of the story end happily with Little Red Riding Hood being saved from the wolf’s clutches by her father and the woodcutters. Dress suggestions: A long nightgown with a bed-jacket and a bonnet on your head.

The Wolf  (from Little Red Riding Hood) When Little Red Riding Hood saw me dressed in her Grandmother’s bonnet, she said “O, Granny, what great–big–teeth–you’ve–got!”  And I said, “The better to eat you up!” Dress suggestions: Dress in a bed-jacket with a bonnet on your head but add some ears and large teeth so everyone knows you are a wolf.

The Genie (from The Adventures of Aladdin) I helped Aladdin to become a prince. I live in Aladdin’s magic lamp. Dress suggestions: Wear middle eastern clothes (eg baggy trousers) and a turban. Carry the lamp in which you live.

Characters from other books

Oliver Twist (from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens) – At the workhouse, I lived on “the smallest portion of the weakest food possible.” Later I went to London. The people I lodged with turned out to be none other than a gang of thieves, but I did not realize it till later. King Henry was a bloodthirsty tyrant who always got what he wanted, but “thinking it might be dangerous to express (my) feelings more openly”, I said nothing. Dress suggestions: Dress as a pauper with lots of holes in your clothes and grime. A bit of soot on your face would not go astray.

Cleopatra (from Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare) – I am queen of that fair country Egypt. O! my oblivion is very Antony (Marc Antony), and I am all forgotten. He married Octavia, Caesar’s sister to please Caesar. My anger at hearing this was such that it would “melt Egypt into Nile!” King Henry, swept away by my beauty, tried to catch me in his noose, but by his fetters I’ll not be bound. Dress suggestions: Wear loosely draped material to form a toga. Make your face white with powder. You may like to draw Egyptian symbols or pyramids and the like on your clothes.

Puss in Boots (a fairytale by various authors) I was given to the youngest son of a miller. He wasn’t very happy to get just a cat. So I convinced him to give me some boots and a bag and told him I could be pretty handy. Over a period of time I caught prey, which I gave to the King to gain favor for my master. The King happened to have a very beautiful daughter. She and my master fell in love so it was up to me to make him rich so he could marry her. I did this by tricking a rich ogre to turn into a mouse which I promptly ate leaving all the estates and castle to be taken over by my young master. After that I led a really restful life. Dress suggestions: A large hat with a large feather (like a peacock’s) in the band. As big a pair of boots as you can find. An old fashioned, three-quarter length coat.

The Monster (Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley) Even though Frankenstein had spent so much time and effort creating me, he found me so horrible, he ran in revolt. I reeked of the dead that had been used to create me. I met King Henry in the library. I found him more horrible than people found me as a monster. Dress suggestions: Wear clothes that look stitched together and draw some stitches on your brow.

Scarecrow (from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum) I was very upset because I didn’t think I had the intelligence to be able to capture the Wicked Witch. But we did succeed and so we returned to see the Wizard, only to find he wasn’t really able to do anything. But he did point out to us that we already possessed what we sought. I already had a brain. I just had to start using it. Dress suggestions: Dress as a scarecrow with bits of straw coming out of your torn and tattered clothes (eg check flannel shirt and blue overalls).

Dorothy (from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum) After I was captured by the flying monkeys and I defeated the Wicked Witch of the West – I came back to the Wizard – only to find out he had no powers at all. He offered to take me back to Kansas in his balloon, but then took off without me. Fortunately, someone told me to use my magic slippers. Dress suggestions: A blue dress with a white blouse underneath. Add white socks and magic red shoes. If you can, add long black hair tied in two bows.

Little Jack Horner (from the famous nursery rhyme) I sat in the corner eating my Christmas pie. I put my thumb in the pie and pulled out a plumb and said, “What a good boy I am!” Dress suggestions: Carry a small pie and/or just a plumb. Wear Christmas clothes, perhaps donning red and green.

Little Bo Peep (from the famous nursery rhyme) I’m a shepherdess, but I’m in trouble because I’ve lost my sheep. I fell asleep and they wandered away. Now I have to take my crook and search the hills and meadows for my bleating sheep. Dress suggestions: Wear a flared dress with pantaloons (tights) underneath and a straw bonnet with a ribbon tied under your chin. Carry a crook – you can make one from an old umbrella handle and cover it with silver foil. Tie a satin bow around it.