For Book Clubs
Reading Summer of Secrets with your book club? Download my discussion starters right here!
Contains some of these questions…
- The beautiful landscape of the Cornish coast was one of the first seeds of the story. How does that setting influence and underscore some of the main themes and characters of the novel?
- Maddy initially comes across as quite reserved, naïve and removed from reality. Would you still describe her as a strong character? What is it that then forces her to change, and how does she grow and develop across the arc of the story?
- Did you feel sympathetic towards William and his spontaneous, desperate decision to escape a to him untenable situation? What would you have done in his position?
- Given the class divide in 1930s England, do you think it’s plausible that Maddy and William end up together and if yes, why?
- In the maze Victor accuses Maddy of having engineered the situation by her own previous behaviour towards him. How did you feel about his words and his rationale? Looking back at their previous interaction was there a kernel of truth in it, or is that a classic way for a controlling personality to manipulate the other?
Ready for more Cornwall? My favourite novels set in the most beautiful place on earth.
Are all writers introverts? Do creatives choose a solitary desk life because they like working on their own, or do they just become really good at being alone because they have to be?