Reading Group Guide: Palmer Girl
You’re invited to join my virtual book club! If you love reading historical fiction, enjoy talking about it with friends, and if you’re on Instagram, then this is the place for you. We will start with Palmer Girl, my newest book, but then we will branch out to other authors and books.
Here’s how our book club works:
We will use a private message group on Instagram to communicate.
We will read one book per month.
We will have one discussion group per month (every second Thursday).
I will provide reading guides with discussion questions for each new book.
There will be occasional free book-related treats available for download.
To join, click HERE, and let me know you’re in, and also let me know your IG name. I will add you to our group!.
Below, is the reading guide for Palmer Girl. If you would like to start your own bookclub (outside of the one I’m leading on IG) you are more than welcome to use this guide. If you are reading this post after mid-November, you will be able to find our current book of the month on this blog and on my IG account.
About the book:
Palmer Girl
by Dawn Klinge
Set in 1893 in the city of Chicago, this story captures you from the start and keeps you reading through the final pages. It's a tale of love, challenge, hope, and overcoming!
When insurance tycoon, Cornelius Nordeman, is recruited to work for the Exposition Corporation, the New Yorker brings his family to live at the Palmer House Hotel, far away from any reminders of a recent tragedy. He’s hopeful this move will offer respite from his family's grief. Elizabeth Nordeman, his daughter, has something to prove, which leads her to seek work as a florist at Marshall Field’s, Chicago's finest department store. John Lewis knows something is different and intriguing about the new florist he hired. When his boss, Marshall Field, informs him that Elizabeth is the Nordeman heiress, his job suddenly becomes more complicated--especially when he finds himself falling for her. On the eve of the Columbian Exposition of 1893, Chicago prepares to prove that it’s a first-class city, and the brightest minds from around the country will plan the most spectacular fair the world has seen. The World’s Fair will bring change and innovation into a society bound tightly by class and tradition. Elizabeth’s heart longs to push against those boundaries, so what’s holding her back?
Palmer Girl, by Dawn Klinge | bibliography
Publication date: September 29th, 2020
Genre: Historical Romance, Inspirational Romance
Paperback: 309 pages
Publisher: Genevieve Press
ISBN-10 : 1734643412
ISBN-13 : 978-1734643411
Excerpt:
It was too late to avoid being spotted. The last space on Elizabeth Nordeman’s dance card was about to be filled. Taking one last discreet sip from her glass, she set it on the passing silver tray of a uniformed waiter. Then she turned and smiled politely at the elegant woman and the young man approaching her. They’d made a beeline toward her place at the base of the grand curving staircase where she’d paused to catch her breath after the last quadrille. She’d been hoping to make an early exit and return to her family’s apartment upstairs without anyone noticing.
Drawing near was Bertha Palmer, their hostess, and judging by the determined look on her face, her motives were clear. Every high society woman of Chicago, minus the ones with marriageable daughters of their own, seemed united in her mother’s cause, which was to introduce Elizabeth to every eligible bachelor of high social standing in the city.
Discussion Questions:
PALMER GIRL centers on the unexpected relationship between Elizabeth and John, who come from different socio-economic backgrounds, yet they fall in love. What challenges do their differences create? In what ways do their differences draw them together? Can you relate?
How does the author convey differences between the characters, beyond just the facts of their lives and families?
What do you think the author’s purpose was in writing this book? What ideas was he or she trying to get across?
The author writes this book from two points of view, Elizabeth’s and John’s. Did you connect more with one voice or character over the other? Did it surprise you which character you more strongly connected to?
This love story is set against the time leading up to the turn of the twentieth century, a period of reform in the area of women’s rights and labor rights, along with rapid innovation, much of which was displayed at the Columbian Exposition. What affect does this backdrop have on the actions of the characters?
Communication is an important part of every relationship. What mistakes did you see Elizabeth and John make in communicating with each other, that led to later challenges?
Grace, or undeserved favor, is sometimes difficult to accept. It can seem too good to be true. Do you feel like Elizabeth grows in her understanding of grace throughout the book. If so, why?
What feelings did this book evoke for you?
download PDF by clicking on image
