DISCUSSION QUESTIONS The Magnolia Palace |
1. If you could meet any of
these characters and have a conversation with them, who would it be?
What would your conversation be about?
2. When Miss Helen meets
Lillian, she says, “I like to make things difficult for other people.
You should know that right off: I’m known to be difficult.” How does
their relationship evolve over the course of the book?
3. While trying to convince Lillian to
pose for his statues, Mr. Konti says that if the people of New York
“walk by one of my statues and look up and see something beautiful, an
idea or person who inspires them, then I have done my job. I do this not
for me. It’s for humanity.” What do you think of this statement? Does it
resonate with you and the role public art plays in your life? Why or why
not?
4. Miss Helen seems
disconnected from reality, and is frequently oblivious to the feelings
and motives of those around her. Why do you think that is? How do you
think her wealth and position have altered
her worldview? How did it affect the way she treated people like
Lillian, or the way her father regarded people like Bertha?
5. How do Joshua’s
experiences as a Black man in the art world affect the way he views the
art at the Frick? Do his experiences alter your views of art history in
any way?
6. How do Lillian’s and
Veronica’s experiences working
as models in two different decades compare? In what ways does the
novel explore the difference between being looked at versus being seen?
7. The tenuous friendship
Joshua and Veronica build during their stay in the Frick Collection is
almost destroyed when Veronica betrays his trust. What are the stakes
for each of them in that moment? What makes Veronica’s actions dangerous for both,
and how do their situations differ? What would you have encouraged
Veronica to do with her find?
8. Did the ending surprise you? How do
you think the truth of what really happened to Henry Clay Frick and the
Magnolia diamond affected the different characters at the end?
9. If you could go back in
time to one of the eras Fiona Davis writes about in THE MAGNOLIA PALACE, would
you? Which would you choose? * Some questions from Reading Group Guides.
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