The Rebel Pirate (35 page)

QUESTIONS
FOR
DISCUSSION

1. What is your overall response to the novel? What do you like best? Do you mind that the story takes place before events of
The Turncoat
, the first book in the Renegades of the Revolution trilogy?

2. Were you surprised to learn of the naval skirmishes between the British and Rebels that took place in Boston Harbor and all up and down the New England coast, even as the more familiar events in Lexington and Concord were unfolding? How has your understanding of the American Revolution changed after reading this book?

3. Which secondary characters did you like best, and why?

4. Angela Ferrers also appears in
The Turncoat
. Discuss her role in both books.

5. Many of the characters in
The Rebel Pirate
lack strong political conviction, but by the end many of them have joined the Rebel side. Discuss the events that lead each character to this conclusion, and the various ways in which each is “radicalized” to take up arms against the prevailing government. Does this have implications for our own age?

6. James Sparhawk and Sarah Ward are drawn to each other right from the start. Does Donna Thorland convince you that their attraction goes deeper than mere lust? How does she accomplish that? Do you find their romance satisfying? What future do you envision for them?

7. Without realizing that Anthony Trent and James Sparhawk are related in any way, Sarah becomes engaged to the father of the man she loves. It’s a risky plot twist. Does Donna Thorland pull it off?

8. Anthony Trent is not quite the murderer that his son believes, but he’s not entirely innocent either. Discuss the choices he has made and his efforts to make amends. Do you believe he is thoroughly reformed?

9. Discuss the relationship between Benjamin Ward and Charles Ansbach. What role does honor play? How does their unequal social status affect their relationship and the Ward family’s fortunes?

10. Discuss the role of money in the book, and during this time period. What happens to the characters when they get it, and when they lose it? Who plays false to acquire money, and what happens to them when they’re found out? What do you think of the way captured ships, and their cargo, were taken as “prizes” to enrich the captors? Can you think of a modern-day equivalent?

11. Betrayal is a pervasive theme. Discuss the various perceived or confirmed betrayals that the characters commit, what motivates them, and what consequences follow. Who, on the other hand, chooses loyalty over betrayal, and how do they fare?

12. Sarah had a happy childhood growing up in Salem. Drawing upon the few details that we’re told, discuss what her childhood might have been like. How does it compare to Sparhawk’s upbringing? How do their experiences compare to the ways children are raised in this country today?

13. What do you think you will remember about this book six months from now?

 Look for Donna Thorland’s next novel in the Renegades of the Revolution series, in which an actress who secretly authors seditious pamphlets and an earl’s son desirous of a commission in the British Army must journey together to upstate New York, where “Gentleman” John Burgoyne, playwright and general, is waging a most peculiar war. . . .