The Tutor's Daughter (45 page)

1. How would you compare education by private tutor with other forms of education you may have experienced (homeschooling, classical academy, boarding school, public school, etc.)? Would you have enjoyed being taught by a tutor? Would it have been an effective way for you to learn? Why or why not?
   
2. Do you have anything in common with the main character, Emma Smallwood? (i.e., Do you like to make lists? Have a place for everything and put everything in its place? Like to be in control and are reticent to ask for help?) How would you say Emma changes during the course of the novel?
   
3. Emma admits that, since her mother's death, she rarely prays because she has come to believe that God no longer answers her prayers. Have you ever struggled with your relationship with God after a loss or when it seems as though your prayers go unanswered? What would you say to someone struggling in this way?
   
4. What role does Emma's teacup from Venice play in the novel? Why is it significant?
   
5. Have you, like Aunt Jane, ever refused or postponed a romantic
   relationship for career (or other) reasons? Have you ever resisted other change in a similar way? How can we discern the best choice to make when we come to such points in our lives?
   
6. Imagine if you, like Emma, had grown up with a houseful of young men coming and going. How do you think this might have affected your upbringing and perspective, your relationships with both men and women in later life?
   
7. How would you diagnose Adam's “disorder,” or would you? Were you surprised to learn people like Adam were often raised elsewhere during this time period (including one of Jane Austen's brothers)? Is it understandable that different people will care for a loved one in different ways even in this day and age? What are your feelings about that?
   
8. Were you surprised by anything you learned about Cornwall, shipwrecks, “wreckers,” or the lack of lifesaving equipment in the early 1800s? What did you find most interesting?
   
9. Did you have a favorite character in this story? Why did you like him or her? What thoughts did his or her situation prompt about your life?
   
10. How would you characterize the book's theme or message? What spoke to you most in the story?
    

Julie Klassen
loves all things Jane—
Jane
Eyre
and Jane Austen. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her books,
The Silent Governess
(2010),
The Girl in the Gatehouse
(2011), and
The Maid
of Fairbourne Hall
(2012) have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.

For more information, visit
www.julieklassen.com
.

From Bethany House Publishers

Lady of Milkweed Manor

The Apothecary's Daughter

The Silent Governess

The Girl in the Gatehouse

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall

The Tutor's Daughter

Resources:
bethanyhouse.com/AnOpenBook

Website:
www.bethanyhouse.com

Facebook:
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