The Great Switcheroo

"The Great Switcheroo" is a short story by Roald Dahl. It was included in the collection Switch Bitch published in 1974 by Michael Joseph Ltd.

Plot summary

Vic Hammond lusts after Samantha, the wife of his best friend and neighbour Jerry. The scheming Vic considers that it would be difficult to seduce Samantha as she is faithful to her husband, so he devises a plan that would allow Vic and Jerry to switch wives for a night without the women knowing it. He puts the suggestion to Jerry in the form of a story and finally manages to lure Jerry into proposing that they should try out the plan. Many meetings are subsequently held between the two men in which they plan every detail of the scheme. At one point, they even have to describe the routine they adopt when sleeping with their wives. Both men regard the other's approach with disdain. Vic, who is very proud of his own way toward his wife, is particularly furious when Jerry criticizes his routine.

On the "D-Day", everything turns out as planned, and Vic is very satisfied with his one hour with Samantha. His happiness, however, ends prematurely, when his wife tells him the next morning that "he" was so marvellous the night before that she feels that she truly enjoys sex for the first time.

ee also

*Switch Bitch