1.
The period following World War I, which ended in 1918, was one of social upheaval. In what ways do the different members of the Benedict family model the changes in society?
2.
Margot Benedict faces strong opposition to her struggle for equal opportunities in a male-dominated field, and is working in a time of diminishing numbers of women physicians. Why do you think there is so much resistance to her efforts and those of other women of the day?
3.
Do you think professional women face similar obstacles in the present day? What choices do women have now that they lacked in the 1920s?
4.
Dickson Benedict and his daughter have spirited arguments over social issues. Do you think Dickson takes opposing views from Margot because he believes them, or purely for the sake of the debate?
5.
Fashions for women changed much more swiftly in the 1920s than ever before in western history. Why do you think that was the case? What do shorter hemlines, bobbed hair, discarded corsets, and even the use of cosmetics tell us about how the role of women in society was changing?
6.
Preston Benedict is convinced that the sapphire he stole in Jerusalem imbues him with special powers. Do you think his conviction is what creates that power? Do you think his belief speaks to the state of his sanity?
7.
Abraham Blake was born free, although his parents were slaves, set free only by the Emancipation Proclamation. He is grateful to Dickson Benedict for his place in Benedict Hall, but do you think he is still, in essence, an indentured servant? Was there any other choice for him?
8.
Edith Benedict is a product of her time, a woman accustomed to comfort and wealth and assured of her social role. Her daughter, Margot, grew up with the same advantages. In what ways are these two women different? Are there any similarities between them?
9.
Margot Benedict is practicing medicine nearly a decade before the advent of antibiotics. Are you surprised, reading the novel, at the level of medical sophistication being practiced in her day? Are there elements of Margot’s medical practice that remain unchanged almost a century later?
10.
Toward the end of the novel, Ramona Benedict reveals her own special talent for fashion, and helps her sister-in-law to choose clothes that flatter her instead of making her look like the dowdy lady doctor, as she did in the
Times
photograph. Do you think that Ramona and Margot, two such different women, have discovered a basis for friendship?