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ABOUT JOANNA TROLLOPE
Joanna Trollope is a descendant of Anthony Trollope and a #1 bestselling author in England. Writing as Caroline Harvey, she is the author of Legacy of Love and The Brass Dolphin. Writing under her own name, her contemporary novels include Next of Kin, Marrying the Mistress, and Other People's Children. Her earlier books, The Choir and The Rector's Wife, were both adapted for Masterpiece Theatre.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- A reviewer for the Chicago Tribune described Vi as "the novel's moral compass." Do you agree with this assessment? Vi is extremely critical of Gina, saying to her, "Love! What do you know about love, except to love yourself, I'd like to know?" and "You let this quarreling go on and on and on and you let it all go. You had all those things... and you didn't have to struggle for them, you didn't have to be lonely, and take all the decisions, did you, day after day, year after year." Why is Vi so critical of Gina? Is this criticism justified? How would you characterize their relationship? What about Vi's relationship with Sophia?
- Each character changes as the novel progresses. This is due in part to the breakup of Gina and Fergus's marriage and Laurence and Gina's affair. What other events affected the characters? Did some characters change more than others? Did you empathize with one character in particular?
- Were you satisfied with the development of the various relationships between the main characters? Did any of the relationships need to be stronger or to reveal more?
- Fergus blamed Gina for the breakup of their marriage, and in several instances Vi also implies that it is Gina's fault. And after Fergus leaves her, Gina too blames herself. Is this a fair blame to place solely on Gina? Is she to blame for the near-breakup of Laurence and Hilary's marriage?
- The children in the novel are faced with many difficult issues. Did you find Sophy, George, Adam, and Gus to be realistic portrayals of adolescents? How about their reactions to the events with which they were faced? The novel begins and ends from Sophy's perspective. How important a character is Sophy and how would you describe her?
- The novel is titled The Best of Friends, and Laurence and Gina's long friendship provides the basis of the story. At one point Gina says to Laurence, "When I'm desperate, when I don't know where to turn, I come to you. Don't I? Because we go a long way back, because I trust you. I suppose it's an instinct to come to you." Laurence, in turn, thinks to himself about Gina, "He felt all those facts that he knew, and all those things he could observe, cohere in his heart most powerfully and mingle with his relief at her appreciation of him and the sheer pleasure of feeling her there in his arms." Were Laurence and Gina really in love, or did they confuse other emotions for love? How would you characterize their friendship before their affair? Were they ever really best of friends?
- Descriptions abound of the Bee House, High Place, Vi's home, and Fergus's London townhouse. For example, Gus disliked going to High Place because "there were too many unwritten rules there that one was bound to break." Are these residences as much a part of the story as the characters? Do they reflect the personality and/or the actions of their inhabitants in any way?
- Joanna Trollope portrays three generations of characters in the story. Is one generation any more happy than the others? Do they learn from one another?
- Hilary sacrificed her career to help Laurence run the Bee House. Do you think Hilary made the right decision in the end of the novel? What would you do if faced with a similar situation? Did the events that took place have a positive effect on her life in any way?
- The women in the novel—Gina, Hilary, Vi, and Sophy—are all strong characters. How are they alike? How are they different? Did you identify with any of these characters? If yes, which ones and why?
- In portraying daily domestic life, the author does not sugarcoat the events that take place. How well does she deal with such issues as divorce, death, responsibility, and regret? Are they dealt with in a realistic manner?
- In one instance Vi says, "We're all alone in the end. Aren't we? We're the only person in our whole lives we can't change, that we're stuck with." What do you think of this statement? How does it relate to the story?
- Were you satisfied with the story's ending, or do you wish it had turned out differently? If so, how? Was it a believable ending?
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