Book Club Discussion Questions for The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Sister Acts and our BookBrowse Review of The House at the End of Hope Street.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. If you were to ever find yourself at the house at the end of Hope Street, who are some of the women that you would like to meet there? What might materialize in your room: a wardrobe, books, a piano, or something else?
   


2. Besides the women mentioned in the novel, who are some others that you feel must once have visited the house?
   


3. Would you—like Peggy—give up hopes of having a family of your own in order to be the caretaker of such a magical place?
   


4. Which of character could you relate to most—Alba, Greer, or Carmen?
   


5. Are Alba's psychic abilities a blessing or a curse?
   


6. Does Carmen stay with Tiago because she was accustomed to the abuse? Is Tiago's death justified self–defense?
   


7. If you were one of Alba's siblings, would you have complied with your father's request to punish your mother for her affair?
   


8. Does society still hold a double standard regarding infidelity, frowning more upon women who cheat than men?
   


9. Do you feel sorry for Blake or despise him for the way he treats Greer? Do you think that most womanizers are driven by something painful in their past?
   


10. Did you suspect that Dr. Skinner was a woman before Alba confessed it to her father? Why was Alba unable to see Zoë's adoration for so long?
    


11. Elizabeth and Albert were brought together by E. M. Forster's A Room with a View, and Peggy and Harry were brought together, in part, by a love of movies. How important are shared tastes and interests in a romantic relationship?
    


12. Why does the house decide to change its all–women rule and allow Edward and Tilly to move in?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Penguin Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.