The Bellini Madonna Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Lost and Stolen Treasures and our BookBrowse Review of The Bellini Madonna.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

About this Guide
The following author biography and list of questions about The Bellini Madonna are intended as resources to aid individual readers and book groups who would like to learn more about the author and this book. We hope that this guide will provide you a starting place for discussion, and suggest a variety of perspectives from which you might approach The Bellini Madonna.

Discussion Questions

1. Lowry's essay "The Visitable Past" outlines the ways in which the relationship between Anna and Lynch is similar to that of the duke and duchess of Browning's "My Last Duchess." In addition to the list of ways that Anna is similar to the Duchess, can you think of any ways in which she is different? Does Lynch do what he did for the same reasons the duke had his wife killed? Do his penitence and confession (in the form of this book) earn him any form of redemption?
2. Innocence is a major theme of The Bellini Madonna, and of Browning's "My Last Duchess." Lynch reflects (p108) "If I could only learn to see, always, with an innocent eye, all the purposes of my life would suddenly stand revealed." Who are the most innocent characters at the start of the novel and how do they relate to the duchess of Browning's poem? Does this change at all by the book's conclusion? Is the fantasy scene at the very end of the book (p328-29) Lynch finally learning to see with innocent eyes or does he once again worship an image rather than the real thing? Do you believe innocence can be re-learned?
3. What draws Lynch repeatedly back to Roper's diary while he explores Mawle and falls for Anna—is it more than just his search for the Madonna? Do you take it as a breakthrough for Lynch when he says, "In short, I was developing an interest in Anna and James Roper for their own sakes" (p147)? What, if anything, does he want to learn? What parallels do you see between Lynch, Anna, and Harry and Roper, Giulia, and Giuseppe?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Picador. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.