Maryanne E.
asked
Madeline Martin:
I'm looking for book club questions for The Last Book Shop in London. We loved it but I host the book club in a few days and cannot locate some questions for us to discuss. Help?
Madeline Martin
Hi, Maryanne! Thank you for reaching out :) I hope I'm getting back to you soon enough to still help. Here is my bookclub discussion guide:
Which of the three main women in the story do you relate to more? Grace, Mrs. Weatherford or Viv? (or for men: Mr. Evans, Collin or George Anderson)
How does life during the Blitz parallel to experiences you’ve had during the pandemic?
After reading about Grace’s experiences as an ARP Warden, do you think it’s a job you would want to do? Why or why not?
At what point do you think Grace started to see Mr. Evans as a father figure and what did that mean to her?
What did you learn about the Blitz in reading this book that you didn’t know before?
What did you look up to learn more about after you finished reading The Last Bookshop in London?
All the children having to leave London for safe locations in England was a tough decision for parents to make, especially when relocating was not an option for most families. Do you think you would send your child away or keep them in London? How about once the Blitz started?
Taking shelter during the bombings wasn’t always comfortable or convenient as Anderson shelters were cramped and flooded easily and the tube stations were crowded, smelly and loud. Do you think you would still take shelter every night or eventually just chance it in the comfort of your own bed?
Dance halls were enormously popular during the war in London, even on through the Blitz. Do you think you would go to a dance hall while bombs were falling?
Food rationing meant cooking staples like butter, sugar and meat were in short supply. What is one of your favorite recipes you would need to alter and could you remake it using vegetables somehow?
What is the first book you remember falling in love with?
What is one of your favorite classics?
Book list as mentioned in The Last Bookshop in London:
Emma by Jane Austen
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Middlemarch by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans)
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Enjoy!! :)
Which of the three main women in the story do you relate to more? Grace, Mrs. Weatherford or Viv? (or for men: Mr. Evans, Collin or George Anderson)
How does life during the Blitz parallel to experiences you’ve had during the pandemic?
After reading about Grace’s experiences as an ARP Warden, do you think it’s a job you would want to do? Why or why not?
At what point do you think Grace started to see Mr. Evans as a father figure and what did that mean to her?
What did you learn about the Blitz in reading this book that you didn’t know before?
What did you look up to learn more about after you finished reading The Last Bookshop in London?
All the children having to leave London for safe locations in England was a tough decision for parents to make, especially when relocating was not an option for most families. Do you think you would send your child away or keep them in London? How about once the Blitz started?
Taking shelter during the bombings wasn’t always comfortable or convenient as Anderson shelters were cramped and flooded easily and the tube stations were crowded, smelly and loud. Do you think you would still take shelter every night or eventually just chance it in the comfort of your own bed?
Dance halls were enormously popular during the war in London, even on through the Blitz. Do you think you would go to a dance hall while bombs were falling?
Food rationing meant cooking staples like butter, sugar and meat were in short supply. What is one of your favorite recipes you would need to alter and could you remake it using vegetables somehow?
What is the first book you remember falling in love with?
What is one of your favorite classics?
Book list as mentioned in The Last Bookshop in London:
Emma by Jane Austen
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Middlemarch by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans)
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Enjoy!! :)
More Answered Questions
Dr Salwa
asked
Madeline Martin:
Dear Madeline, you are welcome and thank you for the time I have enjoyed while I was reading your book. I highly appreciate your recommendation, and I have already put Marin's Promise on my wanting to-read list?, and looking forward to your new book. Thank you so much.
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