The Butler Did It! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stephano

Stephano is King Alonso's butler, and is portrayed as a loud, slightly annoying butler who has a drinking problem. Stephano is drunk throughout most of the story, and is trying to marry Miranda, the daughter of Prospero. To do this, he involves himself in a plot against Prospero, which involves the devious planning of Caliban and Trinculo.

Answer: The Hound of the Baskervilles

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's third novel, "The Hound of the Baskervilles", you are introduced to the faithful butler Barrymore and his wife, the long-standing domestic servants of the Baskervilles. These servants deliberately mislead Holmes and Watson, all while keeping a mysterious secret.

These longtime domestic servants are eager to please their master and are used throughout the story as a red herring just to confuse the reader.

Answer: P.G. Wodehouse

Beach, as he is known throughout the Blanding's series of stories, is a proper English butler. He is depicted as a stoic, ever observant character with a soft heart for children. Beach appears in the many stories written by Wodehouse that occur at Lord Emsworth's home, also known as Blandings Castle.

These stories take place from 1915-1975. The series of stories depict how some servants became members of the family, while others did not.

Answer: Phileas Fogg

Jean Passepartout is the French valet of Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days". Passepartout is a new valet, and is somewhat surprised when he realizes that he will be travelling around the world. His character adds some comic relief and helps mix the French and English cultures together in this novel of fun and adventure.

Answer: The Shining

Found in the novel "The Shining", he was a previous butler at the now haunted Overlook Hotel. He is said to have gone crazy one winter and killed his family. Delbert Grady is actually a ghost who is in contact with Jack, the main protagonist of the book.

While Delbert Grady is portrayed as a butler/caretaker, Jack is portrayed as an insane author/caretaker. Delbert Grady is a frightening character.

Answer: Poole

Poole is Dr. Jekyll's butler and is one of the very few people that has inner knowledge as to what is happening to his master. It is Poole who realizes that Mr. Hyde, the counterpart to Dr. Jekyll, is a great danger and may wreak havoc on anyone who comes in contact with him. Poole takes it upon himself to contact Jekyll's attorney, Mr. Utterson, to provide him with the details of what is happening to his client.

Answer: The Remains of the Day

"The Remains of the Day" is a 1989 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is written in a first person manner by Stevens, the head butler of Darlington Hall. He attempts to deny his own feelings in an attempt to maintain decorum and loyalty to his employer. Much of the novel deals with Stevens' relationship with the former housekeeper Miss Kenton.

The novel recalls his life and lost love in the form of a diary.

Answer: Lane

In Oscar Wilde's novel "The Importance of Being Earnest", Lane is the manservant to Algernon Moncrieff, the story's secondary hero. Lane only appears in Act One, and is the only person who knows about Algernon's practice of "bunburying" or leading a double life.

Answer: The Count of Monte Cristo

Giovanni Bertuccio is the very loyal servant of The Count of Monte Cristo. There is almost nothing he will not do for his employer. Bertuccio is the Count's right hand man and is in charge of buying anything the Count may need. The Count always turns to Bertuccio because he knows that Bertuccio will carry out his orders, just as he gave them.

Answer: The origin of the phrase is unknown.

It is not known for sure where this term originated. It is known that Agatha Christie toyed with the phrase when talking about Parker, the butler in the novel. No one knows for certain the origins of the phrase "the butler did it", but Agatha Christie seems to toy with the cliché in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

This is after it is discovered that Ackroyd has been murdered and that Parker has an extensive criminal history, as well as the opportunity to carry out the crime unobserved. It is not until the end of the book that the reader finds out that the true identity of the murderer has remained well hidden from themselves, as well as from the other characters in the novel.