Introduction

A tale of family secrets and sisterly bonds set against the unlikely friendship of two remarkable women: Stella Nightingale, a twenty-one-year-old runaway from a broken home, and Alice Montclair Whittington, a ninety-four-year-old Southern grande dame with a dry sense of humor, a wicked tongue, and an illustrious but mysterious past.

The last thing twenty-one-year-old Stella Nightingale wants is a job as a caregiver for wealthy Alice Montclair Whittington. Alice, a ninety-four-year-old Southern grande dame with a dry sense of humor and a wicked tongue, has already run off a long line of caregivers. But Stella, a former runaway from a broken home who's only recently begun to put her life back together, is desperate for work. And she figures she can handle Alice.

But strange things are happening at Alice's rambling mountaintop estate. As an unlikely friendship develops between the two women, Alice, whose memory comes and goes, begins to reveal long-ago tales of her illustrious past, tales that pose more questions than they answer. Who is her mysterious sister, Laura? Why won?t Alice and her sister, Adeline, ever speak of her? And why are the other caregivers afraid to go down in the basement?

As Stella tries to separate fact from fiction in Alice's life, she struggles to overcome her own devastating family secret, compelled by a deepening friendship that will change the lives of both women forever.

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

One
§§§


October, 1934
Come home. Your sister has lost her mind.
Her mother’s words seem to echo in the room around her. Alice could almost hear the breathless pauses in her voice, the undercurrent of tension and pleading in her tone. Her mother wrote the way she spoke. Alice crumpled the letter in her lap. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1.) What was "The Sisters Montclair" about? What are some of the book’s themes?

2.) How realistic were the characters of Stella and Alice? Did you like them? Hate them?

3.) Did the actions of Stella and Alice seem plausible? Why? Why not?

4.) By falling in love with Brendan, Alice made a choice that had moral implications in the story. Would you have made the same decision? Why or why not?

5.) When Professor Dillard asks Stella why she stays with Alice, Stella replies, “Because she’s wounded.” How does this statement relate to Stella’s abandonment by her own mother? How does it relate to the central themes of love, mutual respect, and support that develop between Stella and Alice?

6.) Did the story pull you in, or did you have to force yourself to finish it?

7.) The novel essentially takes place in two different time periods. How did the author handle this? Did you feel you were experiencing the time and place in which the book was set?

8.) Did the book end the way you expected? Were you surprised at the end by Alice’s confession, “There’s all kinds of love. There’s the kind that comes over you like a sickness, and there’s the kind that comes on after years of shared struggle and companionship. And I can tell you, from my experience, it’s the second kind that lasts longest. The other eventually burns away like a fever. Leaving what – guilt, regret? Would I have been happier with Brendan Burke? I don’t think so. He wasn’t the man I thought he was. I got the life I needed with Bill Whittington, even if it didn’t seem like the one I wanted at the time.”

9.) Did you enjoy the novel? Why or why not?

10.) How did the book compare to other books by the author? Would you recommend this book to other readers?

Weblinks

»	Author Cathy Holton's web site
»	Publisher's Book Info

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 0 of 0 members.

Member Reviews

There are no user reviews at this time.
Rate this book