The Technologists Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Steampunk Aesthetic and our BookBrowse Review of The Technologists.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. A major theme of the novel is the end of the Civil War and its lasting reverberations. Discuss the impact of the war on various characters—whether via their direct participation or through their failure to actively take part—and how society was changed as a whole. Compare and contrast Marcus and Frank, whose wartime experiences transformed them in vastly different ways.
2. Agnes Turner and Ellen Swallow both wish to gain entrance to a world that has traditionally been closed off to them, and each faces her own set of challenges in doing so—Agnes in breaking free from her family's expectations, and Ellen in the fierce ostracism she faces from her classmates. While this attitude toward women may have been customary for the era, were there any aspects of it that particularly surprised you? On the other hand, what characters or trends ran against the prevailing sensibilities? Did you ever feel that Agnes and Ellen were treated unjustly within the special microcosm represented by the Technologists society? How might the members' feelings toward their female cohorts have evolved over time?
3. One reviewer called Marcus Mansfield "an American archetype—the plucky outsider" who pulled himself up by his bootstraps to lead the charge of technological advancement. What does this say about what it means to be an American and, based on that, are there any other characters who might also qualify as an "archetype"? Why or why not? How is Marcus's situation echoed by other elements of the novel?

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