An Acquaintance with Darkness
Page 24
Shultz, Suzanne M. Body Snatching: The Robbing of Graves for the Education of Physicians in Early Nineteenth Century America. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1992.
Weichmann, Louis J. A True History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and of the Conspiracy of 1865. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1975.
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Reader Chat Page
1. What kinds of life lessons did Emily learn from the Grimm's fairy tales and nursery rhymes told to her by her father? Does his nickname for her, Miss Muffet, have any significance?
2. After the Civil War, what sorts of problems arose between freed slaves and more established African American people like Elizabeth Keckley, who had good jobs and more education?
3. Emily tells Maude that "People make lots of their own problems. Then they blame them on the war." What sorts of problems were blamed on the war in this story?
4. Compare Johnny Surratt to Robert. What qualities did they share? How were they different from each other? Why did Emily feel torn between her loyalties to the two men?
5. How did the people of Washington, D.C., react when President Lincoln was assassinated? What actions and emotions followed this tragedy?
6. President Johnson refuses to consider pleas for Mary Surratt's life, sending the message that "Mrs. Surratt kept the nest that hatched the eggs" in the plot to kill President Lincoln. Do you believe that Mrs. Surratt was fully aware of the plans being made in her home? Do you believe that she deserved to die for her crime?
7. Why did Dr. Bransby and his associates need to rob graves? Since studying bodies made Dr. Bransby a better doctor, do you think the grave robbing was worth the risk? Or is committing a crime such as grave robbing inexcusable?
8. Explain the symbolism of Marietta's night-blooming flowers throughout this story.
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About the Author
ANN RINALDI is an award-winning author best known for her skill at bringing history vividly to life. A self-made writer, Ms. Rinaldi never attended college but learned her craft through reading and writing. As a columnist for twenty-one years at The Trentonian in New Jersey, she learned the art of finding a good story, capturing it in words, and meeting a deadline.
Ms. Rinaldi attributes her interest in history to her son, who enlisted her to take part in historical reenactments up and down the East Coast, where she cooked the food, made the clothing, and learned about the dances, songs, and lifestyles that prevailed in eighteenth-century America.
Ann Rinaldi lives with her husband in central New Jersey.
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