Generic Discussion Questions
• Read-Think-Talk About a Book

Also, consider these to at least help get a discussion started:

1. Talk about the convents—their environment, practices, and the women who populate them. Who are the nuns, for instance, and why are they there?

2. Discuss the tension between the vows of chastity the women take and the suppression of natural sexual desire. Consider that tension in light of the 21st century. Different? The same?

3. What is Zuana's interest in Serafina? What are the differences between the two women...and in what way does the younger woman challenge the older one? Who changes whom in the process of this story?

4. Dunant also portrays the wider religious-political world surrounding the convent. Talk about what was going on in the larger world of the church and how it affected the convent.

5. If you've read other books by Sarah Dunant, how does this one compare?

Although it is set in a convent, it is not a religious novel - the setting is the backdrop to explore the lack of options for women at this time. The love story adds the spice to the historical novel.