The Journal of Ore Damage by Belinda Starling (Bloomsbury)
Points For Discussion
I spent almost eight years, on and off, writing The Secret Mandarin, and in doing so I never once planned a theme for the book, though it transpires it has several. When I was asked to write some questions for reading groups I was surprised that firstly, groups of people might read the story and secondly that the book could be analysed in any kind of organised way! In writing them, I have found myself considering many issues raised by the book for the first time and that has been a pleasure. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.
Mary Penney discovers an alien and exciting foreign world thousands of miles from everything she has ever known. In today’s world, is this still possible? Despite higher levels of education, ease of travel and the access to information available to us, how alien is modern day China or India to our Western minds? Have you ever felt (on holiday or elsewhere) that you were alien to everything around you?
The book is written from Mary’s point of view, do you feel you have also followed Robert’s journey? What might he have said differently if he had been given his own narrative voice?
The book chronicles the development of feelings between the couple from loathing and fear on both sides, to a burning love. Where are the key shifts in this change? When did you first realise what was happening?
Mary and Robert are travelling in the early 1840s—before the advent of modern psychology, Era One medicine or Darwin’s theory of evolution. How would these advancements help or hinder what happens in the story?
Even travelling as a Chinese secretary, essentially a servant, Mary finds she has more freedom than she ever did as a free British woman. What must living in Victorian culture have been like for most women? In over 150 years how much has changed? If a woman were to disguise herself as a man today, what freedoms might she discover?
Robert on several occasions clearly feels highly constricted by society too. How does this contrast with the terms of Mary’s social imprisonment? If you could choose to be in either Mary’s position or Robert’s, which would you decide on?
Robert’s trip inside China changed the landscape of the tea industry. Morally should he have done so?
The book contains glimpses into the lives of many ‘supporting’characters—for example, the Hunters, Bertie Allan, William, Father Edward, Wang, Sing Hoo, Simon Rose, Captain Landers and Ling. Which characters did you enjoy most and why? What other adventures might they have had?
Any historical novel relies heavily on the atmosphere of the time it is evoking—in this case an early Victorian London, a new British Colony and post-Opium War, Imperial China. What made you feel you had experienced these places? How was the atmosphere communicated to you?
There is a strong bond of love and loyalty between Jane and Mary Penney. What do you think happened in the Penney household when the sisters were growing up?
The Secret Mandarin is ‘faction’—a mixture of fantasy and reality. Are you aware where one ends and the other begins? How valid is this way of learning about the past?
When you picked up the book to read it was it what you expected? How much can a front cover and a few paragraphs on the back communicate the contents of any novel?
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to many, for it takes a village to raise a book.
To Syd House, who mentioned in passing that I might find the Victorian Plant Hunters interesting, especially some guy called Robert Fortune (thank you, Syd!). To Mrs Campbell—a wonderful history teacher. To the staff at the Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh who generously gave up their time and helped me in the library and the herbarium. To the staff at The Scottish Plant Hunters Garden at Pitlochry who answered questions ad nauseam. To the brilliant archivists at the National Library of Scotland who were enormously supportive and continue to be so—much appreciated—David McClay and Nat Edwards in particular. To those who read the book in its early draft and gave detailed criticism—the fabulously enthusiastic Jenny Brown, Maxine Hitchcock and her wonderful eyes, the exuberant Val Hoskins and the ever-inspiring Elinor Baginel. To the Kay Blundell Trust for generously giving money when I needed it most—the faith you put in me means a great deal.
Lastly, but in no way least, to my friends and family for putting up with me going on about tea plants for a bloody long time—so many of you lovely people have been kind and patient all through the writing process and then genuinely happy for me when I finally sold the manuscript—I am entirely blessed to have so many wonderful friends. Thanks are due in particular to Lorne Blyth, Monica Higgins and Lucy Gordon for the top party, the gorgeous and supportive Gemma Tipton for knowing me so well, the generous and ever-upbeat Jan Ambrose (head of list-making), the Goodwins and the Faulkeners who bore the brunt along with my lovely daughter Molly and my very own rock, the stupendous Alan Ferrier.
About the Author
Sara Sheridan was born in Edinburgh and studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin. Fascinated by different media, she has written a wide range of stories including contemporary novels, short films, teen and children’s books as well as historical fiction. In 2000 her first novel, Truth or Dare, won a place in the 100 Best Scottish Books as part of the Scottish Library Award. She was also included in Company magazine’s Top Ten Young Writers Under Thirty and has been shortlisted for a Saltire Award. Sara has one daughter and lives in Edinburgh.
To find out more about Sara please visit www.sarasheridan.co.uk.
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Copyright
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright © Sara Sheridan 2009
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