QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
THE STOLEN BOOK OF EVELYN AUBREY
1. How do parents shape the lives of their children in this book? Do you think the secrets both Abby and Lillian learn about their parents damage them, or do they find freedom in discovering the truth?
2. There are multiple examples of families—some functional and loving, others quite dysfunctional—in this novel. When do families thrive? When do they fail? What allows some characters to find or build a family? What keeps others from doing so?
3. How do we know when love is true and nourishing—or when it is false and harmful? What led Evelyn from Peter to William? What caused Abby to pull away from Josiah?
4. There are a number of parallels between Evelyn and Abby’s stories. Are these two women ultimately more similar or different? Did you feel more of an affinity for one or the other?
5. Were you able to visualize modern day Abby and turn of the 20th century Evelyn as one and the same physically? Was their likeness believable, and did it add to the story?
6. Those of us who love books often celebrate the power of the pen. To what extent does writing give Evelyn power in her life? To what extent does it trap her?
7. Why does William react so strongly to Evelyn’s writing? Was it jealously, or something more? Did you foresee William stealing Evelyn’s work?
8. When Evelyn discovers motivation in her anger, she says, “Only my lightest self could find darkness, and only my darkest self the light. And only in this could my writing be truly great.” How did Evelyn’s writing benefit from this darkness, and how did it harm her?
9. If Evelyn didn’t drown in the end, why were the generations to follow cursed by her? Was it Evelyn’s doing, or an idea the family held onto to justify the tragedies?
10. What were your prediction about what happened to Evelyn? Did you think it was suicide? Murder? Or did you imagine she’d plotted her own death and gotten away with it?
11. Both Abby and Lillian feel the push and pull of the places they call home. How do they find and create their own homes? What makes a place a home?
12. This novel is about unearthing the past and bringing to light family stories long forgotten, or never resolved. Abby’s journey to find her father and learn Evelyn’s story, allows her to discover a stronger sense of herself. Do you think if she hadn’t gotten the answers she wanted, this would have been the outcome? Is discovering the truth of our pasts worthwhile even if we don’t get the answers we hope for?
2. There are multiple examples of families—some functional and loving, others quite dysfunctional—in this novel. When do families thrive? When do they fail? What allows some characters to find or build a family? What keeps others from doing so?
3. How do we know when love is true and nourishing—or when it is false and harmful? What led Evelyn from Peter to William? What caused Abby to pull away from Josiah?
4. There are a number of parallels between Evelyn and Abby’s stories. Are these two women ultimately more similar or different? Did you feel more of an affinity for one or the other?
5. Were you able to visualize modern day Abby and turn of the 20th century Evelyn as one and the same physically? Was their likeness believable, and did it add to the story?
6. Those of us who love books often celebrate the power of the pen. To what extent does writing give Evelyn power in her life? To what extent does it trap her?
7. Why does William react so strongly to Evelyn’s writing? Was it jealously, or something more? Did you foresee William stealing Evelyn’s work?
8. When Evelyn discovers motivation in her anger, she says, “Only my lightest self could find darkness, and only my darkest self the light. And only in this could my writing be truly great.” How did Evelyn’s writing benefit from this darkness, and how did it harm her?
9. If Evelyn didn’t drown in the end, why were the generations to follow cursed by her? Was it Evelyn’s doing, or an idea the family held onto to justify the tragedies?
10. What were your prediction about what happened to Evelyn? Did you think it was suicide? Murder? Or did you imagine she’d plotted her own death and gotten away with it?
11. Both Abby and Lillian feel the push and pull of the places they call home. How do they find and create their own homes? What makes a place a home?
12. This novel is about unearthing the past and bringing to light family stories long forgotten, or never resolved. Abby’s journey to find her father and learn Evelyn’s story, allows her to discover a stronger sense of herself. Do you think if she hadn’t gotten the answers she wanted, this would have been the outcome? Is discovering the truth of our pasts worthwhile even if we don’t get the answers we hope for?