Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for The Conjurer:
1. Consider the difference between societal codes today vs. the mid-1800's—women, economic class, prostitution.
2. What do you know...and when do you know it? Mystery/ thriller stories create suspense by withholding information (see LitCourse 6) then letting it out at the right time. Along the way, the author usually drops subtle clues so the ending doesn't pop out of nowhere. A skillful writer does this deftly—without a heavy, controlling hand. How does Biddle deal with revelation and suspense?
3. What type of mystery is The Conjurer? Classic mysteries depend on a world in which reason and logic uncover truth. (See LitCourse 2). In this story, when Martha is informed that her father is missing, she utters, "there must be a logical explanation." To what extent does this story stay within the bounds of the rational world? Are there other ways, less rational, of uncovering truth?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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