English Readers
N or M?
Summaries
Part 1: Chapters 1–4
Part 3: Chapters 8–11
It’s Spring 1940: Britain is at war with Germany and spies
are everywhere. Grant, from the British Intelligence Service,
asks Tommy Beresford to go on a secret mission. Before he
was killed, the previous agent said the two most important
German spies were a man called ‘N’ and a woman known
as ‘M’. The agent also mentioned a guest house called Sans
Souci in Leahampton, run by Mrs Perenna. Tommy and
his wife Tuppence pretend to be called ‘Meadowes’ and
‘Blenkensop’, and go to investigate. Other guests at Sans
Souci are O’Rourke, Bletchley, von Deinim (a German
refugee), Minton, Mr and Mrs Cayley, Sprot and her baby
Betty. ‘Blenkensop’ sees von Deinim, who is working as a
research chemist, talking suspiciously to a girl. Later we find
out it is Perenna’s daughter, Sheila. Tuppence also begins to
suspect Perenna. Colonel Bletchley introduces ‘Meadowes’ to
Haydock who does not trust von Deinim either, and believes
Leahampton is an ideal spot for a German invasion. Tommy
tells Grant, who also suspects von Deinim, that Tuppence is
also investigating. After an argument at dinner, Sheila tells
Tommy how much she hates the patriotism that made her
father fight to make Ireland an independent country, and
the English who killed him as a traitor. She and her mother
have been hiding the secret, and pretending they are not
Irish. Tuppence meets a strange woman, who seems familiar
to her, near the house and overhears secret invasion plans for
‘the fourth’.
Tuppence and Tommy think the kidnapper, identified as
Vanda Polonska, was working with Carl but cannot think
of a motive for the kidnapping. Sheila is upset when
Carl von Deinim is arrested because he has suspicious
documents and his shoelaces have invisible ink in them.
Tuppence realizes that Carl may have kidnapped Betty
because he was afraid her game with the shoelaces would
give him away. If Carl is N, Perenna might be M, so
Tommy and Tuppence ask Albert to follow her. ‘Meadowes’
goes to see Haydock. His foreign servant Appledore is
surprised when he hears the expression ‘N or M’. In
Haydock’s bathroom Tommy discovers a secret radio and
realizes that Haydock is N! But Tommy is discovered and
kidnapped. In London, Tuppence’s daughter Deborah has
a talk to her colleague Tony Marsdon about where her
mother is, and later finds someone has been in her room.
Tuppence is worried about Tommy, and decides to risk
exposing her real identity to the spies. Marsdon appears in
Leahampton offering to help Tuppence and she tells him
about a secret code she uses with Tommy. Tommy is locked
up at Smugglers’ Rest but, hearing Albert outside, he attracts
his attention with Morse code.
Part 2: Chapters 5–7
Haydock sees spies everywhere and says that his house,
Smugglers’ Rest, belonged to a Nazi spy. Carl is seen talking
to the strange woman that Tuppence met the previous day.
He claims he does not know her but says she is Polish. At
dinner, everyone is shocked when ‘Blenkensop’ tells them
that her letters contain military secrets from her son; later
she discovers that someone has secretly opened her letters.
‘Blenkensop’ reads Goosey, Goosey, Gander to Betty who plays
a game, putting her shoelaces in water. Tommy sees Carl going
into Tuppence’s room alone, so he becomes the main suspect.
Tommy and Tuppence call their friend Albert for help. When
Sprot goes to London, ‘Blenkensop’ reads to Betty and notices
that all the old children’s books have been replaced by new,
very clean ones. Mr Caley becomes a suspect when he shows
he admires the Nazi system. Sprot returns and everyone talks
about the war, until they realize Betty has been kidnapped
by the mysterious Polish stranger. Sprot finds a note telling
her not to call the police or Betty will die. They chase after
the woman and Betty, and eventually find them near the cliff.
Haydock cannot shoot the woman because Betty is too close,
but Sprot kills the woman with Bletchley’s gun.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
Part 4: Chapters 12–15
Tuppence receives a ‘coded’ letter arranging a meeting,
and leaves, stepping in a puddle as she goes. She meets
Marsdon who persuades her to disguise herself and meet
Dr Binion. He is really Haydock. He knows she is a British
spy. As an insult, Tuppence calls Haydock ‘Goosey, goosey
gander!’, but it makes him very angry and she realizes
it must mean something important. Grant arrives and
Haydock is shot. They race back to Sans Souci and find
the book Goosey, Goosey, Gander. This is the spies’ secret
contact book and Sprot is M. Tuppence explains that she
was suspicious of Marsdon so she laid a trap with the fake
code – he believed it and used it. Then, following Albert’s
plan, she walked into Marsdon’s trap. The aniseed trace
from the puddle outside the house made it easy for Grant
to follow her. The final piece of the puzzle was that Vanda
Polonska is Betty’s real mother, not Sprot, who had placed
false evidence in Carl’s room to incriminate him. Sheila
is reunited with Carl, who is a British Intelligence officer
playing the role of Carl who the Nazis wanted to use as a
scapegoat.
1
English Readers
N or M?
Classroom Activities
Part 1 (Chapters 1–4)
Before reading
1Research
Ask students to do research (using the Cultural notes at the
back of the book), and answer these questions. When was the
Great War? When did World War II start? Who was fighting
who? (Who were the ‘Allied’ powers, and who were the
‘Axis’ powers?) What was the ‘Fifth Column’? Why were they
also called ‘the Enemy Within’? What happened in France in
1940? What was the ‘Blitzkrieg’? Who were the Nazis? What
is a ‘concentration camp’? What is a refugee? Who was the
Irishman Roger Casement? What is his connection with the
Germans? Who was Nurse Edith Cavell?
2Playing detective
There are a lot of suspects in the story. Students should
fill in the notes below as they read the book to help them
remember who people are and to make connections.
Who is N?
Who is M?
Carl von Deinim
Mrs O’Rourke
Major Bletchley
Mrs Perenna
Mr Cayley
Mrs Sprot
Commander Haydock
Sheila
Miss Minton
Mrs Cayley
Mrs Blenkensop
woman outside Commander
Haydock’s house
After reading
3Writing
In pairs, have students tell the stories below, using the notes
to help them. Then each student chooses one of the topics,
and writes the notes up as a report to the British Intelligence
Service. (If the idea of ‘informing’ to the authorities might be
politically sensitive to any of the students, then of course leave
out this detail.) Suggest an appropriate word limit.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
Tuppence’s story
in the Great War / serve
as a nurse / have lots of
experience with wounded
soldiers / now want to help
her country / the authorities
only want young people /
Grant arrive / not an office
job / too dangerous for a
woman / get some sherry /
telephone her friend / tell
her what to say / pretend
to leave the house / stay
and listen / Tommy go to
Scotland first / Tuppence go
direct to Leahampton
Sheila’s story
live with a secret all her life /
her father / Patrick Maguire /
follower of Casement in the
last war / want Ireland to be
an independent country /
want Germany to help Ireland
become independent / shot
by the English / a martyr
to some people / a traitor
to others / her mother /
change name / live in Spain
for some years / finally come
to Leahampton / run a guest
house
4 Guess
Tuppence secretly listens to a man and a woman on the
phone at Sans Souci saying: ‘. . . everything going well. On
the fourth, then, as arranged.’ What could this mean?
5Speaking
Sheila Perenna says (p. 22) ‘I hate patriotism! Betraying your
country – dying for your country – serving your country.Why
should one’s country mean anything at all?. . . Nothing’s worth
dying for. It’s all an idea.’
1Discuss this idea with students. Is patriotism a bad thing?
When would you fight and maybe die for your country?
If your country had to defend itself? If your country
started a war?
2Tommy says some words of Edith Cavell: ‘Patriotism is not
enough . . . I must have no hatred in my heart.’ Some people
during the First and the Second World War refused to
fight. They were called ‘pacifists’, and they had a very
hard life. Sometimes the government even put them in
prison. Do you think they were brave?
3Have you ever served in the army? How was it different
from everyday life? Did it make you feel more or less
patriotic? Why?
2
English Readers
N or M?
Classroom Activities
Part 2 (Chapters 5–7)
Before reading
1Playing detective
Students look back at their character notes (Part 1, activity 2)
and in small groups discuss who they think N and M might
be. Each group should then agree who they think it might be.
Then split the groups to make new groups containing one
person each from the old group, and let them compare their
ideas.
2Research
On the evening that the author says was more typical of Sans
Souci than any other, they talk about the following topics: Can
France fight back? What is Russia likely to do? Could Hitler
invade England if he tried? Will Paris fall to the Germans? If
the class is interested in history, encourage students to research
the answers to these questions online. Each group researches
one question and gives a 2 minute report back to the class.
What do people talk about nowadays? If students are from
different countries, let them compare common topical
questions from their own homes. Write down some of the
most promising questions. Scatter the questions around the
room, and have pairs of students choose one question and
talk about it for a couple of minutes, then shout ‘change’ and
the pairs of students move on to another question. Circulate
and suggest useful vocabulary and tactics for answering such
questions. (Even simple tactics like saying ‘It depends’ to allow
freer answers, or using personal experiences to give concrete
examples can be useful.)
3Speaking
Tuppence reads Betty two nursery rhymes. This is ‘Little Jack
Horner’. Read it out loud. Which lines ‘rhyme’ (sound the
same at the end)?
Little Jack Horner
Sat in the corner,
Eating a Christmas pie;
He put in his thumb,
And pulled out a plum,
And said ‘What a good
boy am I!’
Have students talk about their
own country’s version of nursery
rhymes, and maybe translate one
or two that they know, explaining
what, if anything, they mean.
You can also have the students
write down the translation, and
polish it a little, maybe introducing
simple rhymes.
After reading
4Comprehension
Label the sketch of Smugglers’ Rest and the changes Hahn
made to it before Commander Haydock bought it.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
Key
__ cove
__ big tanks for petrol (under the garage)
__ concrete steps
1 improved the house
__
__ cave – where smugglers used to hide their goods
__ cliff
__ beach
__ radio (‘wireless transmitter’) built into a secret safe in
the dining room
5Comprehension
Answer the questions about Smugglers’ Rest.
1Why is Smugglers’ Rest such a good place for spies?
2The firm that Hahn used to ‘improve’ the Smugglers’
Rest was a London one, but many of its workers didn’t
speak English. Why does Colonel Haydock think this is
suspicious, do you think?
3When he complained to the authorities, what did they say?
4What did they say when he said the Germans were
building the finest Air Force in Europe?
5What did the police find when they searched the house?
6Playing detective
Read about Mrs Blenkensop’s code on page 28. Then try
to find out the place mentioned in the letter below. The
code word is ‘silly’. Why is the place so special?
Dear Raymond
It’s good to hear you’re all right. When I know where
you are, I don’t worry quite so much, because I am
silly! Some man up Golder’s Green Lane eats real
salmon – real English salmon, too! I keep seeing his
cat eating the skin and bones. It’s terrible! Don’t they
know there’s a war on! People need to save food!
Have each student write a note using the same code to
another student.
3
English Readers
N or M?
Classroom Activities
Part 3 (Chapters 8–11)
Before reading
1 Speaking
Why would a spy kidnap a child? Students brainstorm ideas.
How could these ideas affect the story?
Put students in groups and have them discuss what they
would have done if they were in the same situation. Would
they have tried to shoot the Polish woman? Remember there
was a possibility that they could have hit Betty by mistake.
2 Listening
Listen to the beginning of Chapter 8, the inquest on the
Polish woman’s death. Decide whether the statements are true
or false, and write in the correct information if it is false.
1 ___
F Her real name was Vanda Calfont.
It was Vanda Polonska
..........................................................................................
2 __ She was a German refugee.
..........................................................................................
3 __ She came to England alone.
..........................................................................................
4 __ Most of her family was killed in Poland.
..........................................................................................
5 __ Since she came to England, she had not behaved normally.
..........................................................................................
6 __ Her relatives helped to arrest a spy at a Naval dockyard.
..........................................................................................
7 __ It was possible that Vanda was a spy.
..........................................................................................
8 __ The inquest decided Mrs Sprot killed Vanda.
..........................................................................................
After reading
3 Playing detective
This is a quick and clever way to learn Morse Code
(borrowed from www.learnmorsecode.com).
‘Dah’ means long dash, ‘dit’ means short dot. Go left and
down on the chart for ‘dah’, and right and down for ‘dit’. So
Tommy’s ‘SOS’ is dit-dit-dit dah-dah-dah dit-dit-dit.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
‘Tommy’ is
dah dah-dah-dah dah-dah
dah-dah dah-dit-dah-dah.
What does
dit-dit-dit-dit dit dit-dah-dit-dit
dit-dah-dah-dit dah-dah dit mean?
Imagine you are Tommy, locked in a cellar. What messages
would you try to send to Albert? Think of a message, write
it down, then send it to your partner using ‘dit – dah’.
4 Comprehension
1 What did Tuppence think when she first saw Vanda?
2 Why does Sheila start to cry after the inquest?
3 What does Sheila think will happen to him?
4 Why did Haydock employ Appledore?
5 What does Haydock’s anger remind Tommy of?
6 What is the ‘fourth’?
7 Why doesn’t Haydock just kill Tommy?
5 Vocabulary
‘Nicknames’ or ‘pet names’ are common between friends,
and sometimes they can be quite strange. Several of
the characters in the story have a nickname. Match the
nickname to the full name below, and underline the ones
that are in the story.
‘pet names’
full first names
__ Art
__ Bert
__ Betty
__ Bill
__ Deb
__ Dick
__ Dolly
__ Jim
__ Jo
__ Joe
__ Katie
__ Liz
__ Penny
__ Tommy
__ Tony
__ Tuppence
a Thomas
b Penelope
c Elizabeth
d Albert
e Two Pennies (money)
f Anthony
g Deborah
h Arthur
i Dorothy
j Joanna
k Joseph
l Elizabeth
m Katherine
n William
o Richard
p James
4
N or M?
English Readers
Classroom Activities
Part 4 (Chapters 12–15)
Before reading
1 Playing detective
At the beginning of this section, Tuppence gets a letter from
Penelope Playne. Who is it from?
Here are some details from the next section. Can you think of
any connection between them?
1Tuppence stepped in a dark puddle.
2She kicked a car’s tyre.
3Tuppence took off her own clothing and put on the nurse’s
uniform. . . She rejected, however, the heavy square-toed
shoes.
2 Speaking
Ordinary life in Britain changed dramatically during World
War II. Now students have nearly finished the book, ask
them if they can guess what kind of changes there were.You
could put the quotes below on pieces of paper and post them
around the room. Students walk around and look at them,
then in groups discuss and make a list of changes.
1Major Bletchley: ‘Of course, we are all on the lookout
nowadays for Fifth Columnists, aren’t we?’
2Mrs O’Rourke about Mrs Sprot’s husband: ‘He’s a clerk in
an office, and so terrified of air raids he sent his wife down
here at the beginning of the war.’
3Anthony Marsdon: ‘All the signposts have been removed, of
course, in case they helped the enemy.’
4(Mrs Sprot) spoke excitedly about . . . what a soldier
recently returned from France had told the people in her
train carriage, and what a girl in a shop had told her of
shortages to come.
5Miss Minton: ‘You know they say that the Blitzkrieg on
England is coming soon – and a new type of poisonous gas,
I believe.’
6‘He patrols the streets at night to make sure no lights are
showing to attract the German bomber pilots.’
7Mrs O’Rourke about Mrs Blenkensop writing to her sons
fighting overseas: ‘I know how you feel. If I had a boy out
there, I’d be fooling the censor in the same way.’
After reading
3Language
Write this on the board or make copies. This is a summary of
Vanda Polonska’s story. One mistake has been corrected, there
are 8 more. Ask students to find the mistakes and correct them
in good English.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
a refugee
Vanda Polonska came to the UK as an agent. She
had no money, and was angry when Mrs Sprot said
she wanted to adopt her child, and look after her well.
Mrs Sprot wanted a daughter because she could not
have children of her own. But Vanda wanted more
money, and came looking for her. When Tuppence first
saw her, she thought Vanda looked like Dr Binion’s
nurse, Anna. Vanda finally kidnapped Betty. Mrs
Sprot found the ransom note herself, so that no one
would call the police. Then she had to shoot Vanda,
even though the shot could have killed Betty, because
she was so worried about Betty. She made sure that
Tommy was there, so that he could help her: he told
everyone that Mrs Sprot was able to hit Vanda because
she had trained in the LDV. Later, Tuppence realised
that Vanda reminded her of Betty.
4 Comprehension
Who says . . .
1. . .‘Between us all we will create a new Europe – a
Europe of peace and progress.’
2. . . ‘In the last war my son was killed, my Otto. I was
thirty-eight, then – I am sixty-two now – but I have not
forgotten.’
3. . .‘Goosey, goosey, gander.’
4. . . Her heart was dancing. Success – success – they were
going to succeed.
5. . .‘Dot, dot, dot, dash, dash, dash, dot, dot, dot.’
6. . . ‘I’ve been ordered to put a certain proposal before you.
But – but well, frankly, I don’t like doing it.You see . . .’
5Speaking
Put students in groups and have them discuss these
questions. Tell them to explain their answers.
1Why didn’t Tuppence and Tommy tell their son and
daughter what really happened? Would you in this situation?
2Betty would be in her seventies now. What kind of life
would she have had? What would she tell her children
and grandchildren?
3What will happen to Sheila and Carl? They seem to be
in love, but there are four years of World War II ahead
of them.
4The plot of this story is so closely connected to Britain
in World War II that it would be difficult to change it or
make it more modern if you wanted to make a movie,
for example. Do you think a ‘historical’ story like this
is more interesting than a ‘timeless’ or modern story?
Would you recommend this story to your friends? Would
you be interested to see a movie or TV version?
5
English Readers
N or M?
Answer Key (Classroom Activities)
Part 1 (Chapters 1–4)
Mrs Blenkensop
a dark-haired woman
= Tuppence!
1Research
Answers will vary.
woman outside
Commander
Haydock’s house
a tall woman, poorly
dressed, just under
forty, blonde-haired
and beautiful, has
a foreign accent,
looking for Mr
Rosenstein
2Playing detective
Suggested answers:
Who is N?
Who is M?
Carl von Deinim
a young man, very
stiff, fair-haired and
blue-eyed, a German
refugee, two of
his brothers are in
Nazi concentration
camps, his
father died in a
concentration camp,
mother is dead,
research chemist,
little money Tuppence thinks
he sounds as if he
had memorised the
information about
his life
Mrs O’Rourke
a large, ugly, Irish
woman with a
moustache and a
deep voice like a
man’s, used to sell
antiques in London,
strong, athletic,
frightening smile,
was upstairs when
Tuppence heard the
mystery woman on
the phone in Mrs
Perenna’s bedroom
Major Bletchley
obviously retired a
long time ago from
the army, served in
India
Mrs Perenna
a middle-aged
woman with a lot of
black hair and a lot
of very white teeth,
Irish, but she doesn’t
want people to know,
changed her name
many times
Mr Cayley
middle-aged, an
invalid, spent a lot
of time in Germany
before the war,
always complaining
Mrs Sprot
a young mother
with her baby girl,
Betty, from London,
her husband Arthur
works in London
Commander
Haydock
was a big man with
intensely blue eyes
and a habit of
shouting most of
the time, house on
the cliff next to Sans
Souci, Smugglers’
Rest
Sheila
Mrs Perenna’s
daughter, talks to
von Deinim, forceful,
angry with the
English because
they shot her father,
hates ‘patriotism’
because her father’s
patriotism for Ireland
was so strong that
he died for it
3, 4, 5
Answers will vary.
Part 2 (Chapters 5–7)
1, 2, 3
Answers will vary.
4Comprehension
Miss Minton
an elderly woman,
wearing many
necklaces
Mrs Cayley
middle-aged
7 cove
3 big tanks for petrol (under the garage)
4 concrete steps
1 improved the house
5 cave – where smugglers used to hide their
goods
6 cliff
8 beach
2 radio (‘wireless transmitter’) built into a
secret safe in the dining room
5Comprehension
1 It’s perfect for sending signals out to sea. And
there’s a cove where you could land a small
boat without being seen.
2 He thought German workers were building
secret things into the house.
3 A war with Germany was impossible.
4 They didn’t believe him.
5 A wireless transmitter and big petrol tanks in
the garage.
3F She came with a cousin and his wife.
4T
5T
6F They were arrested at a Naval dockyard
for a crime.
7T
8T
3 Playing detective
‘Help me’
4Comprehension
1 That her face looked familiar.
2 The police arrest Carl von Deinim. Sheila
likes him very much.
3 The police will make up a false case
against him and say he was working for the
Germans, and one morning they will shoot
him!
4 He had excellent references, and asked for
low wages.
5 A Prussian officer shouting at a soldier a
long time ago.
6 The day that Germany will attack the UK
and try to invade.
7 His dead body might smell in the hot
weather and make people suspicious.
5Vocabulary
Art – Arthur
Bert – Albert
Betty – Elizabeth
Bill – William
Deb – Deborah
Dick – Richard
Dolly – Dorothy
Jim – James
Jo – Joanna
Joe – Joseph
Katie – Katherine
Liz – Elizabeth
Penny – Penelope
Tommy – Thomas
Tony – Anthony
Tuppence – Two Pennies (money)
Part 4 (Chapters 12–15)
6Playing detective
Smugglers’ Rest. It’s where Commander
Haydock lives, but it was built by a Nazi spy.
Part 3 (Chapters 8–11)
1Speaking
Answers will vary.
2 Listening
1 F It was Vanda Polonska.
2F She was a Polish refugee.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
1 Playing detective
Answers will vary.
Tell students that they will find out the real
answers when they read this section.
2 Speaking
Suggested answers: loss of trust, always looking
out for spies, fear of spies and bombs, and
‘secret weapons’, difficult to travel, food
shortages (‘rationing’ – bacon, butter and sugar
were already rationed by the time of this story,
though none of the characters mention it),
soldiers (husbands, sons) fighting and dying
6
N or M?
English Readers
in foreign countries, ‘blackout’ – all windows
must be completely covered at night, and there
are no streetlights, letters can be read by the
government
3Language
Vanda Polonska came to the UK as a refugee.
She had no money, and was glad when Mrs
Sprot said she wanted to adopt her child,
and look after her well. Mrs Sprot wanted
a daughter because no one would suspect a
mother was a spy. But Vanda missed her child,
and came looking for her. When Tuppence
first saw her, she thought Vanda looked like
someone, but she couldn’t think who.Vanda
finally kidnapped Betty. Mrs Sprot wrote the
ransom note herself, so that no one would
call the police. Then she had to shoot Vanda,
even though the shot could have killed Betty,
because she couldn’t allow people to know the
real story. She made sure Commander Haydock
was there, so that he could help her: he told
everyone that Mrs Sprot was able to hit Vanda
because of ‘pure instinct’. Later, Tuppence
realized that Vanda reminded her of Betty.
4Comprehension
1 Commander Haydock
2 Anna, the spy with Haydock
3 Tuppence and Betty
4 Tuppence
5 Tommy
6 Anthony Marsdon
5Speaking
Answers will vary.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2012. This page is photocopiable.
7