The year is 1901. Buffalo, New York, stands at the center of the
nation's attention as a place of immense wealth and sophistication,
and its booming industry and newly electrified streets promise to
bring the "city of light" even more repute.
Against this rich historical backdrop lives Louisa Barrett, the
attractive, articulate headmistress of Buffalo's most prestigious
school for girls. Protected by its powerful all-male board, "Miss
Barrett" is treated as an equal by the men who control the life of
the city. Lulled by her unique relationship with these titans of
business, Louisa feels secure in her position-until a mysterious
death at the power plant triggers a sequence of events that force
her to return to a past she has struggled to conceal, and to
question everything and everyone she holds dear.
Wrought with remarkable depth and intelligence, this extraordinary
novel evokes the culture and conflicts of a time and place with a
storytelling power that is unrivaled. The questions, discussion
topics, and author biography that follow are intended to enhance
your group's reading of
City of Light by Lauren
Belfer. We hope they will enrich your experience of this deeply
fascinating novel.
1. In City of Light, the upper echelons of
Buffalo society all get what they want by cultivating an
"acceptable" image under which they can do what they want,
regardless of its moral implications. How does this rationalize
their behavior, as well as hide it?
2. Faced with a social order that demanded this "acceptable"
behavior, was there any other way Louisa could react when faced
with a crisis -- such as Millicent''s abduction or the
vandalization of her school?
3. Are there any main characters in this story who don''t follow
society''s code? Who and why?
4. Louisa likes to think of her students as "a generation of
subversives who took up their expected positions in society and
then, day by day, bit by bit, fostered a revolution." Do you think
that this is what she achieved with her students? Was it the best
way she had to help the social progress of women?
5. Why do none of the members of Buffalo society become involved
with the faction that is worried about the affects of the power
plant on the environment?
6. In protecting Grace, was Louisa doing the right thing? Did
her focus on the little girl blind her, impairing her judgement, as
with her decision to not turn Susannah Riley in?
7. Would Louisa have been better off moving away from Buffalo
and merely keeping in touch with the Sinclair family? Would Grace
have been better off?
8. If Abigail''s mother wanted to keep her daughter''s child far
away from Abigail and from scandal, why didn''t she have him
adopted in a family far away, instead of sending it to the
asylum?
9. Why does Mr. Rumsey let Louisa know that he planned her
meeting with Cleveland? Would she have been better off never
knowing?
10. Why does Mr. Rumsey seem surprised that Louisa might have
suffered from her experience of conceiving Grace -- or that she
feels badly about her "loss of innocence?"
11. In 1901, Buffalo is one of the richest, most sophisticated
cities in the nation. How does this influence Louisa''s life, and
the lives of the wealthy citizens of the city? What do they hope to
achieve on the brink of a new century?
Bonus questions:
What motivates Tom Sinclair''s dreams of electrical power? Is it
the vision of industrial progress, the hope of personal fame and
wealth, or something else?
Why was Francesca Coatsworth able to maintain her "alternative"
lifestyle and still be such an influential member of society?
Why do you think Francesca allowed Sarah to disappear into
Singapore after she confessed her crimes?