1. Describe Clare and Katie's life in Dublin with their grandfather and Brigid. What are its positive qualities?

What are its negative ones? Is Grandfather a real tyrant, or is he genuinely concerned for the girls' welfare?

2. What is Brigid's role in the story?

Is she simply a comic eccentric? What aspects of Clare's character does she help to bring out?

3. How closely do Clare and Katie resemble people you know? Compare and contrast their reactions when they first arrive in London. With which one do you more closely identify? Why?

4. What are Irish-English relations like as experienced by Clare and Katie in London? Is there hostility on both sides? What is Clare's attitude to things English? Is she justified? Does Katie share her views?

5. Is Mary's refusal to press charges against the French professor convincing? What basically motivates her?

What is Clare's position in...