1. What is your impression of Letitia? What does her kindness toward Mrs. Ferry say about her character? Is she a saintly figure?

2. How does the marriage of Zenobia and Maidment compare with that of Letitia and Thaddeus? Is it a more fully realized relationship?

3. How does Thaddeus relate to women? Is his interest in them simply self-serving? Does he seem to have affection for either Mrs. Ferry or Letitia?

4. What is Mrs. Iveson's opinion of her daughter's compassion? What does she mean when she says, "Letitia's innocence seems just a little remarkable now, and I wonder if the good are always innocent"? Is she being disdainful toward her daughter's memory?

5. What is Pettie's attitude toward other women? We learn that she has been sexually abused by older men as a child. Why do you think she gravitates toward them?

6. How does Trevor use lush, natural imagery to contrast the sparse existence of the characters that inhabit Quincunx House?

7. What is your impression of Albert? What qualities does he share with Letitia? Why is his profession significant?

8. After Georgina is taken, Thaddeus says that "A miracle it has seemed. . . Loving Georgina." What miracles have Georgina's birth and subsequent kidnapping brought about?

9. How are Pettie and Thaddeus similar characters?

10. Is Pettie's tragic death somehow redemptive? Could she have been saved?