Mistress Firebrand (33 page)

QUESTIONS
FOR
DISCUSSION

1. What did you most enjoy about
Mistress Firebrand
? Do you find the action or the characters more entertaining?

2. In
Mistress Firebrand
, loyalties to the British and Rebel causes are constantly shifting, and many in the populace play both sides. Many of those fighting for the Rebels are as ruthless as those fighting for the British. Compare this picture of the American Revolution with the one you were given in school. Has the book changed your perception of the war, and of our country’s origins?

3. Discuss the life choices that Jenny and Severin have made before they meet each other. How do their choices change once they fall in love? Who changes more?

4. Were you surprised to learn how unstable New York’s city government was during this period? Talk about the challenges that ordinary people might have faced living there. Have you ever lived in a place with an unsettling political instability?

5. Donna Thorland contrasts two men in positions of power—General John Burgoyne and George Washington. She clearly considers Washington to be the superior man. Do you agree? How do these men stack up against Severin Devere, Courtney Fairchild, and John André?

6. Knowing that her illness would shorten her life, Frances Leighton deliberately returned to the Colonies from England to “rescue” Jenny from her hometown and bring her to New York, where her talent for acting and writing might flourish. But she also agrees to send Jenny to John Burgoyne, knowing that Burgoyne will expect sexual favors in return for his patronage. Why is Frances willing to let Jenny sacrifice herself? Do you approve of her decision? And what do you think of Frances’ choices in her own life?

7. Severin has mixed feelings for Angela Ferrers. Discuss how those feelings seem to shift during the novel. What does he think about her in the end? What do you think about her?

8. Discuss the role of Native Americans in the novel. Did anything about Donna Thorland’s depiction of them, and especially of Severin’s family, surprise you?

9. Washington believes that Jenny’s seditious plays can play an important role in rallying the populace to the Rebel cause. Do you think the written word, whether in a play, a newspaper, or online, has the power to change public opinion today? Why or why not?

10. Does reading
Mistress Firebrand
make you curious to learn more about the American Revolution, or to read the other books in the series? How does the novel compare to other books, TV shows, or movies about the American Revolution that you’ve read or seen?

11. At the end, Jenny and Severin find a new way to contribute to the American cause. Do you have causes that you believe in? How have you chosen to contribute to them? What sacrifices are you willing to make?

12. If you lived in New York during the time of the novel, whose side would you be on—the Rebel or the British?

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