An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.
Mr Avery reached the inn while the lamps were being lit. He removed his gloves and asked the landlord whether the eastbound coach had called. The man glanced at the empty road before answering that it had passed an hour earlier.
Mr Avery laid his gloves side by side on the counter. “Then I have been fortunate in the weather,” he said, looking towards the rain-dark window. He asked for a room and listened without interruption as the landlord described the stairs. Only when he turned away did his hand close tightly around the brass button on his coat. At the foot of the stairs he paused, then climbed without looking back.
Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to present Mr Avery’s effort to conceal his disappointment. Support your answer with references to the passage.
456 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE English Language 1.3 Content: prose fiction study requirements, covering 1.3.1 Read challenging prose fiction for the unseen 19th-century extract. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.