Book club questions

BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS

FOR HEATHCLIFF: THE LOST YEARS

1. What do you remember of the character Heathcliff in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights? Do you remember how Heathcliff’s personality dramatically changed when he returned after his three-year absence, AND DID YOU WONDER WHY?

2. The original Wuthering Heights was presented from the point of view of Mr. Lockwood, a gentleman visiting Wuthering Heights WHO WAS TOLD the story YEARS LATER by Nelly Dean, a female servant. Heathcliff: The Lost Years is told entirely from Heathcliff”s point of view. Did this make Heathcliff’s character clearer and more sympathetic for you as a reader? Were you sympathetic to Heathcliff immediately, or did it take you a while to "get into him"?

3. Heathcliff: The Lost Years is a Gothic novel, but it has a broader scope than Wuthering Heights, which was set in one remote country location. How would you compare Heathcliff: The Lost Years with Emily Bronte’s original? Did you feel that Heathcliff: The Lost Years is a plot-heavy page-turner, or is it MORE a character study of Heathcliff which revealed the changes in his true nature over time?

4. Did you find the plot and setting believable, or not believable?

5. How do you see Heathcliff’s relationship with Catherine in this book? Before Heathcliff left Wuthering Heights, did you feel more sympathy for Heathcliff or for Catherine? Do you feel there is a genuine “soul” connection between the two of them as Catherine seemed to believe?

6. How do you personally regard the character of Heathcliff? Does he remind you of anyone you know?

7. If you read and remember Wuthering Heights, do you see Heathcliff's character differently after reading Heathcliff: The Lost Years? What do you believe motivated Heathcliff to do the things he did?

8. Do you believe Heathcliff felt a kinship with Captain Collingwood, similar to his relationship with Old Earnshaw? Do you think Heathcliff was looking for a father figure when he undertook his travels? Was Captain Collingwood justified in leaving Jamaica when he did?

9. The violent and graphic portrayal of slavery in Heathcliff: The Lost Years is shown from the point of view of 18th Century Englishmen engaged in the business of buying slaves. Was this extremely graphic depiction of slavery offensive to you? How do you regard the relationship between Heathcliff and Kee-Sha, the young African woman?

10. Hangings were a form of a public entertainment in the 18th Century. Was the hanging of the Duchess of Burgundy offensive, or did you find it merely entertaining?

11. How would you compare the character of Agnes Sorel with that of Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff’s first true love? Which woman do you believe truly loved Heathcliff, as he was?

12. Was the ending of Heathcliff: The Lost Years a complete surprise to you, as many have said, or did you see it coming from a mile away?

13. What do you believe was the main theme of Heathcliff: The Lost Years?

14. When Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights in Emily Bronte's original novel, he is more forceful and cruel than he was before he left. Does Heathcliff: The Lost Years adequately explain this dramatic change in character for you? How much of this do you think can be explained by his finding catherine pregnant with Edgar Linton's child, and soon to die of tuberculosis?

15. If you could ask david drum, the author, one question, what would you ask h im?