You’ll often find me hanging out on Twitter and Instagram if you want to talk books – any books, not just mine! And please tag me in your reviews and chats – I’d love to hear what you think about The Woman in the Photograph, and for us to join in the wider conversation about women in the world.

Thank you again for reading The Woman in the Photograph.

Be well,

Stephanie xx

P. S. If you would like to keep in touch with my writing life, you can visit http://www.bit.ly/StephanieButlandClub and join my Readers’ Club. It’s free to join, and we won’t spam you – we’ll get in touch now and again with bookish news and exclusive content. (Small print: Zaffre will keep your data private and confidential, and it will never be passed on to a third party. You can unsubscribe at any time.)

Stephanie Butland’s Readers’ Club

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For your Reading Group

For your Reading Group

For discussion

For discussion

1. From Women’s Lib to #MeToo – in the novel, the fight for women’s rights seems as needed in 2019 as it was in the 1960s. Vee appears surprised when she looks at Erica’s life to find that despite the victories they won in the last century, today’s women still have a lot to protest, a lot to fight for. Do you agree with Vee that equality is still a cause that needs battling for?

2. Has the novel made you more or less likely to think of yourself as a feminist? And why do you think people still find it a controversial term?

3. Has the novel made you think differently about photography?

4. Writing about a different medium always requires skill and invention. How well do you think the author managed to bring the photographs to life with her words? How clearly could you see the key pictures in your mind?

5. If you had to sum up your life in a handful of photographs, which ones would you choose? Is there a moment in your life that you wish had been caught on camera?

6. Vee’s views and ideals undergo a dramatic shift in her late teenage years. Can you think of a pinnacle moment in your life which changed your views or beliefs?

7. To what extent does Vee choose her isolation? Which comes first – a solitary nature, or the desire to be a photographer?

8. Could you sympathise with Vee’s final photos of Leonie? Were those photos brave, intrusive, accidental or a coping device?

9. Do you think you’d have been friends with Vee or Leonie if you met them in your teens or twenties?

10. Who was your favourite male character in the book and why?

11. Do you think it matters who Erica’s mother is?