The Long, Long Afternoon

by Inga Vesper

  Thank you again for reading The Long, Long Afternoon.

  All the best,

  Inga Vesper

  Reading Group Questions

  1. How much of the mystery did you work out during the course of the novel?

  2. What do you think of Sunnylakes as a place? How does the setting affect the story?

  3. How does The Long, Long Afternoon explore racism and gender, and how do these things intersect within the novel?

  4. What do you make of the friendship between Ruby and Joyce?

  5. Who was your favourite character?

  6. How do you think social pressures have affected Joyce Haney’s life?

  7. Mick is both of, and ahead of, his time. In what ways does he try to be better than those around him?

  8. What makes Ruby and Mick a good team?

  9. There is both a Women’s Improvement Committee and a Black Man’s Advancement Committee. In what ways does Ruby feel that, as a black woman, she falls through the cracks?

  10. How do the characters in the novel rebel against the roles society has set them?

  11. What did you make of Frank Haney? Do you think he really loved his wife?

  12. What significance do art and painting play in the novel?

  13. Mick, Joyce and Ruby all have family difficulties. Are any of their three families happy? Why, or why not?

  14. What do you think the significance of the novel’s title is?

  15. Although The Long, Long Afternoon is a work of historical fiction, it shines a light on issues that are still relevant today. In what ways do you think the novel is commenting on today’s society?

  About the Author

  Inga Vesper is a science journalist and editor. She moved to the UK from Germany to work as a carer, before the urge to write and explore brought her to journalism. As a reporter, she covered the coroner’s court and was able to observe how family, neighbours and police react to a suspicious death. She holds a MSc in Climate Change Management from Birkbeck College. Inga has worked and lived in Syria and Tanzania, but always returned to London, because there’s no better place to find a good story than the top deck of a bus.

  First published in the UK in 2021 by Zaffre

  This ebook edition published in 2021 by

  ZAFFRE

  An imprint of Bonnier Books UK

  80–81 Wimpole St, London W1G 9RE

  Owned by Bonnier Books

  Sveavägen 56, Stockholm, Sweden

  Copyright © Inga Vesper, 2021

  Cover design by Sophie McDonnell

  Cover illustration by Matthew Laznicka

  The moral right of Inga Vesper to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,

  Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 978-1-83877-229-1

  Hardback ISBN: 978-1-83877-226-0

  This ebook was produced by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd

  Zaffre is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK

  www.bonnierbooks.co.uk