The Midnight Visitor

• Author & Setting

  • Author: Robert Arthur
  • Protagonist: Ausable (Secret Agent/Spy)
  • Supporting Character: Fowler (Young, romantic writer)
  • Antagonist: Max (Another secret agent/intruder)
  • Setting: Gloomy, French hotel room

• Character Traits: Ausable

  • Appearance: Fat, sloppy, speaks with an American/German accent
  • Personality: Calm, clever, quick-witted, resourceful
  • Contradiction: Unlike the cinematic stereotype of a spy (tall, dark, romantic, drinking whiskey)

• The Plot / Climax

  • Initial Encounter: Fowler meets Ausable; feels disappointed by his lack of spy-like qualities
  • The Intruder: Ausable and Fowler enter the room to find Max waiting with a pistol
  • The Objective: Max wants a secret report concerning missiles
  • The Conflict: Max threatens them; Ausable shows no panic

• Ausable’s Deception (The Fake Balcony)

  • The Lie: Ausable calmly complains about the management and the balcony beneath his window
  • The Setup: Claims this is the second time someone has broken into his room through that balcony
  • The Knock: Loud knocking at the door (revealed later to be Henry, the waiter with drinks)
  • The Panic: Max, believing it is the police, gets nervous and steps out onto the non-existent balcony to hide
  • The Result: A loud scream as Max falls to his death

• Key Themes & Morals

  • Appearances Can Be Deceptive: Do not judge a book by its cover
  • Presence of Mind: Intelligence and quick thinking matter more than physical weapons in a crisis
  • Subversion of Stereotypes: Breaking the clichéd image of a fictional spy