Do you think a marriage could work between a couple with such opposite backgrounds as Maria and Peter? They came from different social classes, in an era when that meant a whole lot more than it does now; he was far less educated than she in the academic sense; he did not believe in the religion that meant so much to her; and his political beliefs were at odds with her family’s heritage. Did the relationship convince you in the novel?
Both Maria and Val believed that they grew stronger over the years. Do you think their characters developed through the course of the novel? Or did they just learn to cope with adversity through necessity?
Val’s experience of a violent marriage is quite common: many domestic abuse survivors say that the worst violence occurred in the early days, and after that they were scared and did all they could to avoid confrontation. Why do so many women stay in such marriages and only leave in order to protect their children? Is it to do with low self-esteem? Lack of money? Because they still love the men despite everything?
Is Tony simply a monster or do you get a sense of why he is violent and controlling? Can you understand why Val married him?
There are many different locations in this book. Which one was the most vivid for you?
Was there enough explanation of Russian history for those who did not know much about it before? Some readers Google as they go along, and that’s fine, but ideally the book should stand alone without any additional explanation.
The siege of Leningrad was one of the most harrowing aspects of the Second World War, yet little was written about it for several decades afterward. The Soviet government discouraged discussion, simply saying, “Life was hard for Leningraders,” and it is only recently that historians have collected and published oral testimonies from those who lived through it. Did you feel you got a sense of the developing tragedy from the novel?
Did the novel make you consider how you would survive in a police state? Would you inform on your neighbors and/or work colleagues to protect your children, for example?
We get only glimpses of the complex character of Val’s father, and most of these are damning. Did the priest’s words make you reevaluate him?
One theme of the novel is fatherhood: What it means to be a good or a bad father. What do you think makes a good father? How does it affect children if they have a bad father?
Stepan resembles Peter in his character and his moral outlook although he is not his biological son. Would he have been a different person if he had been raised by Anatoly? In other words, is nurture more important than nature?
Why do you think so many people claimed to be Romanovs after the family’s disappearance? Were they doing it for attention? In the hope of claiming the family fortune? Or were they deranged and actually believed it themselves?
If one of the Romanov children had survived, would we ever find out?
Did you read The Secret Wife before this? If so, compare the two books. Which do you prefer, and why?
