The Sunday Wife
Cassandra King, 2002
Hyperion
528 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780786890705
Summary
A captivating novel about one woman's journey toward independence and the life-changing friendship that guides her there.
Married for 20 years to the Reverend Benjamin Lynch, a handsome, ambitious minister of the prestigious Methodist church, Dean Lynch has never quite adjusted her temperament to the demands of the role of a Sunday wife. When her husband is assigned to a larger and more demanding community in the Florida panhandle, Dean becomes fast friends with Augusta Holderfield, a woman whose good looks and extravagant habits immediately entrance her. As their friendship evolves, Augusta challenges Dean to break free from her traditional role as the preacher's wife.
Just as Dean is questioning everything she has always valued, a tragedy occurs, providing the catalyst for change in ways she never could have imagined. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1944
• Where—Lower Alabama, USa
• Education—B.A., M.A., Alabama college
• Currently—lives in the Low Country, South Carolina
Cassandra King is the author of five novels, most recently the critically acclaimed Moonrise (2013), her literary homage to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Moonrise is a Fall 2013 Okra Pick and a Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) bestseller. It has been described as “her finest book to date.”
Fellow Southern writers Sandra Brown, Fannie Flagg, and Dorothea Benton Frank hailed her previous novel, Queen of Broken Hearts (2008), as “wonderful,” “uplifting,” “absolutely fabulous,” and “filled with irresistible characters.” Prior to that, King’s third book, The Same Sweet Girls (2005), was a #1 Booksense Selection and Booksense bestseller, a Southeastern Bookseller Association bestseller, a New York Post Required Reading selection, and a Literary Guild Book-of-the-Month Club selection.
Her first novel, Making Waves in Zion, was published in 1995 by River City Press and reissued in 2004 by Hyperion. Her second novel, The Sunday Wife (2002), was a Booksense Pick, a People Magazine Page-Turner of the Week, a Literary Guild Book-of-the-Month selection, a Books-a-Million President’s Pick, a South Carolina State Readers’ Circle selection, and a Salt Lake Library Readers’ Choice Award nominee. In paperback, the novel was chosen by the Nestle Corporation for its campaign to promote reading groups.
King’s short fiction and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Callaloo, Alabama Bound: The Stories of a State (1995), Belles’ Letters: Contemporary Fiction by Alabama Women (1999), Stories From Where We Live (2002), and Stories From The Blue Moon Cafe (2004). Aside from writing fiction, she has taught writing on the college level, conducted corporate writing seminars, worked as a human-interest reporter for a Pelham, Alabama, weekly paper, and published an article on her second-favorite pastime, cooking, in Cooking Light magazine.
A native of L.A. (Lower Alabama), King currents lives in the Low Country of South Carolina with her husband, novelist Pat Conroy, whom she met when he wrote a blurb for Making Waves. (From the author's website.)
Book Reviews
Rich [and] satisfying.
People
An intelligent, witty novel, skillfully written.
Boston Globe
Delivers haunting messages about the nature of love, freedom and forgiveness.
Orlando Sentinel
Joining a distinguished tradition of southern women writers, King explores the complexities of class and sexism
Birmingham News
The dilemma facing women [The role of wife? Can it be filled without losing yourself?]...is what made it real.
Jackson Clarion Ledger
Shines without turning into a sermon.
Florida International Magazine
Finely drawn characters and complicated social intrigue make Kings second novel a charming read. .... Orphaned as a child, the retiring Dean has spent 20 years of marriage in the shadow of her overbearing, charismatic husband, always feeling out of place..... King has written a truly heartwarming story, a tale of turbulent emotions and the vagaries of public opinion in a small Southern town; she has a sure winner here.
Publishers Weekly
(Audio version.) American version of the British novelist Barbara Pym's writing: a portrait of the well-intentioned but power-hungry preacher with his mismatched mate.... But on the third tape, ...we are left listening to a generic and unremarkable romance novel, predicting most events before reader Joan Allen mentions them.... This is ultimately a frustrating novel (at least in this abridged version).
Library Journal
Discussion Questions
1. What is a Sunday wife? What makes a "good" one? Consider whether or not Dean fits the bill, and explain your reasoning.
2. How does the prologue introduce you to the book's themes?
3. Who is the narrator and is this narrator reliable? Explore what the book would have been like if Ben had been the narrator. Consider how the story would unfold if one of the other characters were narrating.
4. What is the role of religion in The Sunday Wife? How does it frame—or anchor—the story? Share who you believe holds the book's moral center, and why?
5. Discuss the different social issues and dilemmas that King weaves throughout—like same-sex marriage, psychic healing, book banning and adultery—and examine why she uses them to tell this story.
6. Were you surprised at Dean's early admission that she and Ben don't share a bedroom? What kind of relationship does this lead you to believe that they have? Looking at Ben and Dean's exchange on pages 112-113, what kind of person is Dean with her husband?
7. When Dean succeeds in cultivating a friendship with Augusta and Maddox, why isn't Ben ecstatic? Explore whether or not Augusta causes a rift between Ben and Dean. Is Dean and Ben's relationship already coming apart? Why does Augusta tell Dean, "You're not the woman you appear to be"? (page 116)
8. How are Dean and Augusta alike? What are your impressions of them? Thinking about Ben and Maddox, discuss their similarities and differences and what kind of men you think they are, and why.
9. Look at the name choices and the character traits the names imply. How do names influence the reader's perception of the characters?
10. On page 61, Dean and Augusta talk about fate vs. determination and choice. Share whether or not you believe, as Augusta does, that there are unseen forces that determine our fate. Why? How do Augusta's beliefs fit with what happens in her life?
11. Explore the turmoil Rich and Godwin's union causes the community. Why is Ben so upset about Rich and Godwin's union? Why was he so unsympathetic about Dean being attacked? What would you say to him if you were Dean?
12. Why does Augusta's affair with John Marcus Vickery upset Dean so much? Why does Dean say to Augusta, "You've got a child now. Do you want someone taking advantage of Gus like that?" Is this a valid argument? On page 249, Augusta says she has a "trump card." What did you think she was talking about when she said this? What does the trump card turn out to be?
13. Discuss the conversation between Dean and Vickery that begins on page 237. Do you think Vickery is being honest—or flirtatious? Why are so many people drawn to Vickery, and to Ben? On page 239, Vickery says to Dean, "Ben is going to lose you." Why would he presume to say so? Do you think Dean had any notion of leaving Ben at this point?
14. What, if any, is the symbolism of Augusta going over the Crystal River Bridge? (page 260) How do you react to Dean's not even thinking of Ben during the morning after Augusta dies? Do you feel sorry for Vickery not having anyone to grieve with? Did he really love Augusta?
15. Would you have given Augusta's note to her husband or hidden from him it like Dean did? Discuss why Dean does this and whether or not she was protecting Maddox. What are the consequences of Dean's actions? Why does Maddox get so angry when he finally reads the letter?
(Questions from author's website.)