Stewart is an old hand at writing romance novels, with a career that spans four decades. My Brother Michael is one of her early efforts and reflects the era in which it was written. World War II was fought in the previous decade, and it was a watershed event for two or three generations of Americans. Further, the era favored innocent romances and heroines who were strong but not threatening. One way to generate a discussion would be to emphasize a comparison of the themes and characterizations of My Brother Michael to more modern romances. Are there significant differences between the issues discussed in Stewart's novel and recent works? Or, if one were to strip away the heavy breathing from sex in the recent works, would the adventures and characters be much the same? If discussion members are devoted readers of romances, this could generate vigorous...