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 A Murder in Virginia:
1. Lebsock's book is much more than an historical recounting of a murder: it is an exploration into race and class. While white Virginians at the time were rushing to segregate "everything that wasn't already segregated," color lines in Lunenburg County, scene of the murder, were not so sharply drawn. Discuss the complicated nature of the interrelationships between black and white southerners that A Murder in Virginia reveals. What was surprising, for instance, about Mary Abernathy's relationship with Lucy Pollard? Consider, too, how Richmond Planet editor, John Mitchell, played up the mammy stereotypes for Mary's benefit.
2. Speaking of the press, talk about the role it played in this murder case. In what way did newspapers function, in Lebsock's words, as the "thirteenth juror"? Compare the press's influence then to that of the media today.
3. Discuss the court room events of the first trial and the degree to which the deck was stacked against the defendants. What was the surprising twist that allowed the accused to be granted new trials in Farmville?
4. In what ways did the second trial differ from the first—consider the jury, lawyers, and testimony. How did the testimonies of two "unlettered" black women, especially Pokey Barnes, impact the case—and how did the two overturn expectations of race, class and gender?
5. There are surprising real-life heroes in this account—those who stood up boldly for justice. Talk about the roles played by Governor O'Ferrall, John Mitchell, Jr., and Rosa Dixon Bowser. Are there others?
6. Although the mystery of Lucy Pollack's death remains unsolved, do you have any theories? Is Solomon Marable's last minute deathbed-of-sorts confession believable?
7. Talk about the practice of lynching, the subject of which—the hows and whys—is woven throughout this work. Also, what does Lebsock say about the myth that lynching was perpetrated only in the deep southern states, not Virginia?
8. At the time of Lucy Pollack's murder, the trials dominated local news—a media spectacle comparable to the attention given to the O.J. Simpson trial 100 years later. Since then the event has sunk into obscurity—almost all memory of it erased. What does Lebsock see as the reason for its erasure?
9. Extend to the present day this book's revelations about the legal system and racism at the end of the 19th century. To what degree has the situation changed in the 21st century? Is justice still race-based?
10. This is an historical work complete with footnotes. Yet Lebsock has attempted to make it as engrossing as a work of fiction. Was she successful...is her narrative compelling...did she sustain your interest? Consider the qualities that go into making a work of fiction: colorful description, evocative settings, strong characters, and page-turning suspense. Which, if any, of these qualities are present in A Murder in Virginia?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)