Part 16 (1/2)

FALLEN.

QUEEN.

Emily Purdy.

Reading Group questions.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION.

Discuss the personalities of the three sisters-Jane, Kate, and Mary. Which do you like best and why?

The Grey sisters have a little ritual in which they stand before the mirror and identify themselves as ”the brilliant one,” ”the beautiful one,” and ”the beastly little one,” making fun of the way other people see them. Discuss the outside world's perceptions of the three sisters and how they see themselves. Discuss their relations.h.i.+p with each other. If they weren't united by blood and family ties, would these three girls have been friends?

Because of Jane's confession to Roger Ascham, history remembers her mother, Frances Grey, the d.u.c.h.ess of Suffolk, as a ruthless, ambitious, child-beating monster. The modern concept of child abuse was nonexistent in Tudor times, and what we would today consider harsh punishments were not uncommon. What do you think about this? Was Frances Grey typical and merely a product of the time she lived in or did she cross the line?

Discuss the girls' father, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. In this book, he's depicted as a weak-willed man of many vices and addictions-gambling, sweets, and Guildford Dudley. Compared to his wife, is he the good, fun parent? Discuss his influence on his daughters. Is it good or bad? Would their lives, or the course of the story, have been different if he had been a stronger or wiser man? Discuss his relations.h.i.+p with Guildford Dudley. Do you believe the two were lovers in the full physical sense or was it just an innocent infatuation that was really all talk and no substance?

In this novel, Lady Jane Grey deplores anything that even hints of s.e.x and romance, urging those who are weak, or might be tempted, to fight against l.u.s.t and ”despise the flesh.” Why is she so vehemently opposed to what others consider a natural part of life? Does she really, as some suspect, secretly desire her handsome young husband but fight against a desire she loathes discovering inside herself, or does she really hate him? And is Guildford really as stupid and conceited as people think?

Do you agree with Mary Grey that her eldest sister, Jane, chose and embraced the role of martyr and victim? If so, why do you think Jane did this? If you disagree, why do you think Mary thought this? And how do you see Jane?

Mary says that ”all for love” should have been Kate's motto. Is this true? If so, is it a good or a bad thing? Love definitely played a starring role in Katherine Grey's life and death. Do you agree or disagree with the choices she made? Discuss her relations.h.i.+ps with the various men in her life-her father, her two husbands, her father-in-law, and the minor dalliances and flirtations. How did they affect, mould, and shape her? Why does she risk her life to save her father's head from London Bridge? Did she really love her first husband, or was she, as Mary thought, simply in love with love? Should she have married Ned Seymour? Is his love for her sincere or does her royal blood play a role in his decision to secretly marry her? Does it stand the test of time even when they are separated?

Discuss Frances Grey's marriage to Adrian Stokes. Why does she really marry him? Throughout history, and even in the modern day, men routinely date and marry women considerably younger than themselves, but an older woman with a much younger man still invites comment, sometimes even jokes and laughter. What do you think of this? In this novel, her surviving daughters are clearly appalled by her actions, and Frances herself realizes that she is likely to become a laughingstock at court. Do you think this is justified?

After she becomes friends with Lady Jane Seymour, Kate begins to neglect and ignore Mary. They no longer share a room and drift apart until they are more like casual acquaintances than sisters. Why do you think this happened? How would you have reacted if you were in Mary's shoes? Kate seems to dance in and out of Mary's life at her own convenience, as it suits her, when she wants new clothes, and, after Lady Jane dies, when she has no one else to turn to. Even when Kate is in prison and makes Mary her confidante, it is still all about Kate, and she never asks about Mary. Do you think Kate uses or takes advantage of Mary? How does this make you feel about Kate?