PORTRAIT OF A SCOTSMAN Book Club Kit

1. Portrait of a Scotsman is inspired by the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone.

Hades, god of the underworld, is enchanted by Persephone at first sight, but Persephone’s protective mother forbids marriage. Hades leaves his dark realm to abduct Persephone, then tricks her into staying by his side below ground for half the year. Sheltered Persephone is unhappy at first but eventually falls in love with her husband and her powerful position as queen of the underworld.

Considering that our sensibilities about proper courtship have changed since Ancient Greece, why do you think this myth continues to inspire retellings?

2. The ideal woman in the Victorian era belonged in the domestic sphere, where her role was to be a pure, gentle, and mood-lifting presence. The majority of women at the time, however, worked hard outside the home to make ends meet, and their income was required to keep their families fed. Why do you think such an unattainable image was promoted, and do you see any parallels to society today?

3. Poverty, combined with traditional demands on a woman’s time in the home, formed a real barrier between working Victorian women and conventional political participation. Working-class suffragette Annie Kenney wrote in her 1924 memoir, Memories of a Militant: “After a hard day’s work in a hot cotton factory you have very little life left.” Can you think of comparable examples today or in recent times? How and where do you see this explored in Portrait of a Scotsman?

4. Lucian struggles with his position as a self-made man and feels ambivalent about both his roots and his new social class. Why do you think he feels torn? Do you think he handles his new power well? Why or why not?

5. Lucian believes a governance system can be reformed from the inside out. Do you agree or disagree? Why? 6. Hattie argues with Lucian that a woman is always more disadvantaged than a man regardless of their socioeconomic status—because in the power structures of the 1880s, any woman was held back on the grounds that she was a woman.

Do you agree or disagree? If you agree, how have things changed since?