Join in this year’s Big Town Read, which is The Night in Question by award-winning author, Susan Fletcher. LitFest encourages as many people as possible, in and around Marlborough, to read the book ahead of Susan’s appearance at LitFest on Saturday 27th September at 4pm, ready to quiz the author. To help you, reading group questions are now available here but – spoiler alert – do read the book first!
We’re very grateful for support for the Big Town Read from Wiltshire Libraries. Multiple copies of The Night in Question are available to order from Marlborough Library. Call into the library to borrow a copy and if you want to check availability before your visit, call 01672 512663 or email libraryenquiries@wiltshire.gov.uk People will be encouraged to return their copy quickly so that others can read it.
The Night in Question has been praised as an ‘uplifting literary murder-mystery’ and packed with lovable characters, lyrical prose, profound themes and page-turning plot twists. Fletcher’s first novel, Eve Green, won the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Betty Trask Prize and she has subsequently written seven other novels.
The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher
Topics and Questions for Discussion
- Florence Butterfield is eighty-seven years old, when we meet her – and she is mostly surrounded by people of a similar age. How much do you think her age matters, in this book? What do you feel the author wanted to say about age, and the ageing process? Has it changed your own thoughts about getting older, or older people in your life? Discuss, too, her disability: how does the fact that she’s a wheelchair user impact the story (or not)?
- The precariousness of life – how easily and quickly it can change – is a theme in this book. Indeed, towards the end of the novel, Florrie reflects on the amount of luck she has had. What examples of her luck (either good or bad) can you give? What small decisions or moments have had the greatest impact on her life? And if those moments or decisions hadn’t been made, what sort of life do you think Florrie might have ended up having?
- In Chapter 36, Other Holy Places, Florrie sees that her life has been full of love. (‘But the love! Oh, the love in it!’) Who has Florrie loved, in her eighty-seven years? What different kinds of love can you identify in the story? Who – or what – do you think has been the greatest love of her life? And is there a particular love story (romantic or otherwise) which is particularly relatable or moving to you?
- Florrie’s secret – which she has never spoken of – is that she had a daughter in her teens, Joy, who she was forced to give up for adoption. How do you think this event impacted the rest of Florrie’s life? What choices or behaviour (both good and bad) do you think came about as a result of her relationship with Teddy Silversmith, and giving birth to Joy? What did this event bring to Florrie – and what did it take away?
- The expectations of society on a woman – her appearance, her demeanour, her life choices – are all examined in this book. Florrie herself feels that she doesn’t conform to any of these ideals – and, at times, this frustrates or upsets her. (‘It was no use that she’d seen elephants feasting on a marula tree, danced the salsa on a Cuban balcony, or spent her life trying to be generous or good; this was not how a woman’s life was measured by the world. (Where was the husband? The children? The house?’) But how, firstly, do you feel about Florrie, and how she’s lived her life so far? Secondly, how do you think she is viewed by other characters – by Jack Luckett, for example, or Pinky’s three unnamed children, or by the other residents of Babbington Hall? Also, consider the other female characters in the book: how have they conformed, or otherwise – and who do you feel might have been most satisfied with their life? Discuss society’s expectations of women today: are they still the same?
- Invariably, at eighty-seven, Florrie has known loss in her life. Her family have all died; many of her friends have also passed on. How is grief examined in the book? Which character’s death or absence has been the most affecting to you? Florrie, too, considers her own mortality in The Night in Question: how do you feel she feels about dying? And do you think that attitude changes at all, during the course of the book?
- Forgiveness is a central theme in the novel – not least, the ability to forgive oneself. The obvious example of that is with both Florrie and Renata/Maeve: they both must come to terms – at last – with a single traumatic event in their teens. But where else in the book can you see examples of forgiveness, or a need for it? Which characters might be carrying resentment, still – and which may, perhaps, have set that resentment down? Are there any characters whose behaviour, in this way, is particularly understandable, impressive or moving to you?
- In her twenties, Florrie gets married to Victor Plumley. What reasons did they have, do you think, for marrying each other? Also, whilst not seen by either of them as a conventional marriage, the Plumley union lasted for nearly thirty years: what was missing from it and what was in abundance? What were they able to offer each other, as ‘Mr and Mrs P’? Think about other marriages in this book and compare them to Victor and Florrie’s; which, to your mind, is the most successful and why?
- Since childhood, Florrie has been able to see the beauty in life – despite personal tragedies and loss. In particular, she is able to observe the smaller, beautiful details: for example, how sunlight gradually moves down the wall of the landing of her childhood home, the taste of malt whisky or the snapping sound of Nepalese prayer flags in the wind. Are there any of Florrie’s observations that felt particularly resonant to you? Is there any scene, or moment, that you identified with? If you feel able, consider sharing any of your own personal observations with the group.
- The idea for The Night in Question came within the first week of coronavirus restrictions in the UK. The author – like the rest of the country – wasn’t allowed outside for more than an hour a day. She was also living alone, at this time. Knowing this, does it affect your understanding of the book? Which parts of it might have been borne from a time of restriction, anxiety and disease? How might the creation of Florrie’s character and story have helped the author, at this time? And lastly, if there is a message in this book – about life, and how we live it – what would say that message is?