Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. To what extent is Jess a modern day version of Stella? What are the similarities and differences in their characters and situations?
2. Do you perceive Charles as being the perpetrator of injustice, or as much as a victim of attitudes of the time as Stella?
3. Will would never describe himself as hero material. Would you?
4. Stella wonders how she could have done things differently, to change what happened. Given the restrictions of the time, what could she have done?
5. Will and Jess are from very different backgrounds. How likely is it that their relationship will stand the test of time?
6. Do you think the novel presents a positive view of the 1940s, or a negative one?
7. Stella and Nancy share the same background and upbringing, yet it has affected them in very different ways. How has it impacted on each of them in terms of their personality and the choices they make?
8. How much does the war affect the events of the story?
9. What do you see as the central theme of the book?
10. What do you think Stella and Dan's life would have been like, had they managed to find a way to be together?

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