The Fortnight in September Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Seaside Resort Town of Bognor Regis and our BookBrowse Review of The Fortnight in September.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The Stevens family has taken the same annual vacation for the past twenty years. In the opening chapter, the author writes: "They had often talked of a change—of Brighton, Bexhill—even Lowestoft—but Bognor always won in the end" (p. 4). Why do you think they return to the same destination? How have Bognor and Seaview remained the same over the years and how have they changed? In what other ways do members of the family gravitate toward the familiar? When are they drawn to change and the unknown?
2. When Mr. Stevens brings his wife a cup of tea on the morning of their departure, she remarks internally that he "hadn't brought her a cup of tea like this for—oh—ever so long" (p. 27). What is the significance of this gesture? What other small gestures in the book hold a lot of emotional importance?
3. The author writes that Mr. Stevens "had the gift of establishing domestic 'Occasions'" (p. 18) around special days—such as the night before a trip—so that they become almost ritualistic in nature. Why are these rituals important to him and the rest of the family? What other rituals take place throughout the book?

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