A Wreath of Snow (17 page)

I love everything that’s old—
old friends, old times, old manners, old books.

O
LIVER
G
OLDSMITH

1. With her vocation as a teacher and her town house in Edinburgh, our Victorian heroine has clearly embraced her independence, yet she feels an obligation to her family in Stirling as well. How do those two very different worlds impact the choices that Margaret Campbell makes? More than a century later, women are still trying to balance work and home. What tools or methods have you found useful in your life to handle the timeless challenge of multiple priorities?

2. Gordon Shaw does many things right, yet he is still a flawed hero. What are his strengths, and when do you
see them on display? What are his weaknesses, and when do they get in his way? How does the epigraph at the start of chapter 12—“I am not what I once was”—suit Gordon? Ideally, the protagonists of a story will experience some measure of emotional or spiritual growth from first page to last. What growth do you see in Gordon? In Meg? What do you imagine will happen next for them?

3. Though Alan Campbell begins as a secondary character, by the closing chapters everyone’s thoughts are centered on him, which would surely please this troubled young man. What emotion does Alan instill in you, and why? Is it pity? Anger? Frustration? If you were Alan’s mother, how would you have handled him in the months after his injury? In the years since he became an adult? After the Boxing Day debacle at the curling pond? What steps must Alan take to have a brighter future? Which of those steps might make a difference in your own life?

4. After reading an early draft of
A Wreath of Snow
, author Francine Rivers wisely observed that several of the main characters tell lies because they think a lie is better than the truth. She wrote, “Gordon lied because he feared the truth would bring rejection. Meg lied to protect herself and her family from further pain.” Which other characters
lie—to one another or to themselves—and how might they justify their actions? Meg remembers the commandment “Thou shalt not bear false witness” (Exodus 20:16) and is made aware of her wrongdoing. Why are lies so damaging? How do you remain honest with yourself, with others, and with God?

5. Perhaps you, like Oliver Goldsmith in our epigraph here, “love everything that’s old” and so find antiques, museums, and old houses are your style. What time periods do you most enjoy exploring through books and films? As it happens, during the year in which our story is set—1894—Thomas Edison had the first public showing of his kinetoscope, used to create moving pictures. What aspects of late Victorian life might you have found enjoyable? And which ones have less appeal? For you, what is the value of learning about “old times, old manners”?

6. The Victorians and Christmas have always made a happy pairing. Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, brought his family’s German traditions to Britain, including a decorated Christmas tree displayed at Windsor Castle in 1841. Charles Dickens’s classic,
A Christmas Carol
, was published two years later, and the first Christmas cards were printed in 1846. Which Christmas traditions are most meaningful to you? Is your Christmas tree
freshly cut or artificial? Do your ornaments match, or are they a hodgepodge of favorites, collected over the years? What is the merriest moment during the Christmas season for you? And what is often the most solemn and sacred moment?

7. Home can serve both as a refuge and as a testing ground, which the Campbells’ cottage on Albert Place certainly was for Meg. How would you define
home
? And how has your changing sense of home over the years defined
you
? What expectations does “going home for the holidays” stir in your heart? When family conflicts arise during the Christmas season, how might your faith in a loving God help you extend “peace on earth and mercy mild” to those around you?