1. In the opening pages of A Tale of Two Sisters, Anna Maxted immediately establishes Cassie and Lizbet’s distinct personalities via their letters. How are Cassie and Lizbet different?

2. How does irony contribute to A Tale of Two Sisters?

3. Each chapter ends with an unexpected twist. Were you surprised by the first chapter’s ending?

4. What are Lizbet’s reasons for being so adamantly opposed to having a baby? Do you sympathize with Lizbet?

5. From Lizbet’s perspective, what happens to women who become mothers? Do you think there is any truth to her opinion?

6. A Tale of Two Sisters alternates between two points of view; Lizbet’s and Cassies’s. How does this structure contribute to the novel? Did you find both sisters’ points of view equally compelling or did you favor one sister’s point of view?

7. “You have a kid, you become a parent: You put your babies first,” Cassie says. Do you agree that children should always come first?

8. Describe Tim and George. What do you think of them?

9. Cassie has a secret. Were you surprised when you discovered it? Did it shed light on Cassie and Lizbet’s relationship?

10. Does Cassie and Lizbet’s relationship seem typical of the relationship between sisters?

11. What do you think of George’s response to Cassie’s secret?

12. After learning about Cassie’s secret, do you have a better understanding of her feelings for Lizbet?

13. How does Lizbet’s relationship with her mother change over the course of the novel?

14. Do you think Cassie and Lizbet’s professions shed light on their personalities? If so, how?

15. “Elizabeth,” Aunt Edith says, “We all go through hardship in life. Where would we be if we buckled under the first time things didn’t go our way. Young people today have no idea what it used to be like.” Do you agree with Aunt Edith that “young people have no idea what it used to be like?”

16. Do you agree with Lizbet when she says, “Treat your kids with respect, but there has to be some understanding that the parent has the final say”?

17. Does George’s parents’ reaction to his behavior at the end of the novel come as a surprise?

18. Cassie asserts at the end of the novel that “being a parent forces you to consider the imperfections of the planet. But it also forces you to note your own lapses as a human being,” Do you agree?