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The Model Millionaire: Kindness and Irony | ICSE 9

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English LiteratureICSE Class 9 · The Model Millionaire – Oscar Wilde

The Model Millionaire (Oscar Wilde): Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Irony

Updated 18 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In Wilde's The Model Millionaire, kind but penniless Hughie Erskine cannot marry Laura Merton until he has ten thousand pounds. In Alan Trevor's studio he gives his only sovereign to a ragged beggar-model, who is really the millionaire Baron Hausberg. The Baron sends a wedding present of ten thousand pounds.

Notice the irony: the ragged beggar and the rich Baron are the same man, and Hughie's small kindness wins him the money to marry.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Wilde's Irony

Source. The chapter page says the story is subtitled A Note of Admiration and appeared in Wilde's collection Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories (1891). It is one of the Treasure Chest stories for Class IX.

Hughie. Handsome, popular and good-natured, he has no talent for making money. He has tried the Stock Exchange, the tea trade and selling dry sherry and failed. He lives on a small allowance from an old aunt. He loves Laura, the daughter of a retired Colonel, but the Colonel will not allow an engagement until Hughie has ten thousand pounds.

The studio. On his way to see Laura he visits his friend Alan Trevor, a gifted painter who is painting a life-size beggar. The model is a wizened old man in a torn cloak. Hughie learns the model earns a shilling an hour. When Trevor steps out, Hughie gives him his only sovereign, though it means no cabs for a fortnight.

The reveal. That night at the club Trevor tells him the model was very interested in him and that he is Baron Hausberg, one of the richest men in Europe. Hughie is mortified.

The reward. Next morning Monsieur Gustave Naudin brings a sealed envelope marked as a wedding present from an old beggar, with a cheque for ten thousand pounds.

Themes. Kindness rewarded; appearance and reality; money and love; art and society.

Devices. Irony (the beggar is a millionaire; the title pun), the cynical narrator, humour and a twist ending.

Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Wilde's Irony: key facts

Irony list
  • Beggar is a millionaire
  • Reckless gift brings a fortune
  • Title is a pun
Three ironies.
Plot order
  • Hughie poor
  • Studio
  • Sovereign
  • Reveal
  • Wedding present
Use for a sequence.
Themes
  • Kindness
  • Appearance and reality
  • Money and love
  • Art and society
Choose by the question.
Characters
  • Hughie kind
  • Trevor witty
  • Baron eccentric and generous
  • Colonel practical
One trait each.

How to answer Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Wilde's Irony questions

Use this for an irony or character question.

  1. 1State the surface situation.
  2. 2State the real situation.
  3. 3Name the type of irony.
  4. 4Quote a short phrase from the chapter page if needed.
  5. 5Link to the theme.

Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Wilde's Irony in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Helping a stranger

Suppose a student gives her last coin to a street vendor at a fair and later learns the vendor is the organiser of the fair, who sends her a prize for the school library.

Which theme does this resemble?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. She gave without hope of return.
  2. The vendor was not as he seemed.
  3. The reward was larger than the gift.

Answer: It resembles kindness rewarded and appearance versus reality in the story.

Memory hook: Give without counting.

Tricks to remember Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Wilde's Irony

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

  • S-R-R

    Sovereign, Reveal, Reward.

    Use it when: Plot.

  • Rags and riches

    The rags hide a Baron.

    Use it when: Appearance and reality.

  • Ten thousand

    Colonel's demand and Baron's gift.

    Use it when: Key number.

Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Wilde's Irony: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The condition · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

What does Colonel Merton demand before agreeing to the engagement?
(a) a house (b) ten thousand pounds (c) a job abroad (d) a letter

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Chapter page (1).

Answer: (b) ten thousand pounds.

Example 2: Hughie's gift (3 marks) · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

What does Hughie do for the beggar-model and what does it cost him?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Gives sovereign (1)
  2. Only coin (1)
  3. Walks, no cabs (1).

Answer: He gives the beggar his only gold coin, a sovereign, out of pity, which means he must walk instead of taking cabs for a fortnight.

Example 3: Irony of the reveal (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Explain two ironies in the revelation that the beggar is Baron Hausberg.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Beggar is millionaire (1)
  2. Gift brings fortune (1)
  3. Hughie's embarrassment (1)
  4. Link (1).

Answer: The beggar is really one of the richest men in Europe. Hughie's small gift, which he thought was reckless, brings him ten thousand pounds. Hughie, mortified at the reveal, is rewarded for the very kindness he regrets.

Example 4: Appearance and reality (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

How does the story show that appearances can deceive?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Beggar (1)
  2. Rags (1)
  3. Hughie fooled (1)
  4. Reader fooled (1).

Answer: The ragged beggar is a Baron, so his looks hide his wealth. Hughie judges by appearance and is fooled, and the reader is fooled too. The story suggests that kindness should not depend on how people look.

Example 5: Theme question (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

"Wilde's story proves the cynical opening remarks wrong." Discuss.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Opening cynicism (1)
  2. Plot result (1)
  3. Love wins (1)
  4. Irony remains (1).

Answer: The opening says that a charming man needs wealth, but Hughie's charm and kindness win him a fortune. Love succeeds, yet only through a rich man's generosity, which keeps the irony alive.

Where students lose marks in Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Wilde's Irony

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

  • Mistake: Telling the plot only

    Irony is not explained.

    Wrong working

    Hughie gave a coin and got money.

    Right working

    Hughie gave a coin to a beggar who was a Baron, so a small gift brought a fortune.

    Do this: Name the irony.

    Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks

  • Mistake: Wrong amount

    Facts are mixed.

    Wrong working

    Five thousand pounds

    Right working

    Ten thousand pounds

    Do this: Learn the numbers.

    Usually costs: 1 mark

  • Mistake: Calling Trevor a banker

    Roles are confused.

    Wrong working

    Trevor lends money.

    Right working

    Trevor is a painter.

    Do this: Learn roles.

    Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

  • Explain irony as surface and real meaning.
  • Use short quotations only.
  • Mention the ten thousand pounds twice, as demand and gift.
  • Link character and theme.
  • Give two reasons in opinion answers.

Practice questions on Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Wilde's Irony

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

  1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

    Who is Alan Trevor?
    (a) a banker (b) a painter (c) a lawyer (d) a colonel

    Hint

    Chapter page.

    Answer

    (b) a painter.

  2. Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

    Name three jobs Hughie tried and failed at. (3 marks)

    Hint

    Business attempts.

    Answer

    The Stock Exchange, the tea trade and selling dry sherry.

  3. Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

    How does Hughie react when Trevor tells him the model's identity? (3 marks)

    Hint

    Think of mood.

    Answer

    He is mortified and goes home miserable, while Trevor laughs.

  4. Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

    What is Monsieur Naudin's errand? (3 marks)

    Hint

    Next morning.

    Answer

    He brings a sealed envelope from the Baron marked as a wedding present, containing a cheque for ten thousand pounds.

  5. Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

    Why is the title The Model Millionaire a pun? (3 marks)

    Hint

    Two meanings of model.

    Answer

    The millionaire is an artist's model, and he also acts as a model of generosity.

  6. Q6 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

    "Hughie deserves his reward." Do you agree? Give two reasons. (4 marks)

    Hint

    Think of motive.

    Answer

    Yes. He gives his only sovereign out of pity with no hope of return, and it costs him comfort. His generosity is spontaneous, so the reward rewards character, though luck plays a part.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

  1. 1.Who wrote it?Show answer

    Oscar Wilde.

  2. 2.What does Hughie give the beggar?Show answer

    A sovereign.

  3. 3.Who is the beggar?Show answer

    Baron Hausberg.

  4. 4.Who is the painter?Show answer

    Alan Trevor.

  5. 5.Who is Laura's father?Show answer

    A retired Colonel.

  6. 6.What is the gift?Show answer

    Ten thousand pounds.

Hughie's Kindness, the Disguised Baron and Wilde's Irony: frequently asked questions

What is the subtitle?

A Note of Admiration.

Which Class?

ICSE Class IX.

Is the text quoted fully?

No; only short phrases from the chapter page.