Please note: these readers’ group questions may contain spoilers.
1. One of the questions at the heart of the story is whether or not Edwin truly reformed before he died. Why does Annabel want so badly to believe he did? To what extent do you think he did or did not?
2. At one point Annabel acknowledges that she finds it easier to recall the painful events in her past than the happier ones. Celia comments that she thinks it’s human nature. Do you agree? Why or why not?
3. The group of French painters eventually known as the “impressionists” included Degas, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Morisot, Cézanne and others. With their works rejected by the established Salon de Paris, they staged their own “Salon of the Refused” in April 1874. Public response was mixed. In a critical article, Louis Leroy mocked the work as “impressionist.” The artists appropriated the term, claiming it for their own, and now their works are among the most popular in museums. What other cultural trends do you know that were mocked initially but later became mainstream and popular?
4. At several points, Annabel shows Matthew how to “read” a painting. Do you see any ways that Matthew appropriates her ideas to his investigation? When do various characters reflect on their own way of gathering impressions? Do you see any parallels in the way you perceive the events or people in your life?
5. Annabel and Matthew have two different ways of defining truth. Annabel defines it as capturing the moment when people’s expressions and gestures betray their truest feelings and motives. Matthew believes truth is gathered mostly by putting events in order. To what extent to the two of them borrow from each other, or resist each other?
6. Matthew tells Annabel he believes our memories naturally have “a trace of deceit” in them. What other books have you read in which memories are shown to be inaccurate, deceptive, motivated, or simply fragile?
7. In Victorian England, the role of the police and the press were intertwined. Both constructed stories about events, although to different ends. John Fishel of the Beacon claims he provides a service by alerting the public to potential frauds and the actions of police. What differences or similarities do you see with respect to the relationship of the press and law enforcement today?
8. In 1854, Coventry Patmore wrote a poem called “The Angel in the House” which was widely read. In it, he presented his version of the ideal Victorian woman—meek, self-sacrificing, graceful, sympathetic, powerless, passive, and above all pure. The poem also promoted the notion of “separate spheres,” in which men went out to work in the world and women tended the home and the children. To what extent does this book adhere to these ideas and/or overturn them?
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