Shades of Milk and Honey Book Club questions
- Did Kowal’s book make you want to learn more about the real Regency?
- Have you read any of Jane Austen’s novels before this? How did that affect your reading?
- Kowal has said that she based Shades of Milk and Honey on Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Did you spot any parallels to that book?
- Do you think Shades of Milk and Honey could help serve as an intermediate step to introduce new readers to Jane Austen?
- At several points in the book, the narrator directly addresses the reader. Do you think this enhanced or distracted from the story?
- How would you react if someone in the real world created a glamour in front of you?
- Jane often subsumes her own desires in favor of someone else’s. Have you ever done something similar? For instance, have you ever had a crush on someone that a friend fancied?
- Have ever known anyone that you thought faked an affliction for attention? How did that make you feel?
- At several points in the novel, Jane is the unwilling recipient of a secret. Do you think that she is obligated to keep those secrets, or was she correct to remain silent? Have you ever faced a similar situation?
- Jane and Mr. Vincent argue about the ways to appreciate art. He feels that it is best to not look behind the curtain, while Jane feels that an audience educated about an art can better appreciate it. What do you think? Which view do you think the author has? In a modern setting, do you watch Making Of documentaries on DVDs?
- What do you think the major theme of the story is?
