Introduction

In the summer of 1966, Christina Hardcastle—“Tiny” to her illustrious family—stands on the brink of a breathtaking future. Of the three Schuyler sisters, she’s the one raised to marry a man destined for leadership, and with her elegance and impeccable style, she presents a perfect camera-ready image in the dawning age of television politics. Together she and her husband, Frank, make the ultimate power couple: intelligent, rich, and impossibly attractive. It seems nothing can stop Frank from rising to national office, and he’s got his sights set on a senate seat in November.
 
But as the season gets underway at the family estate on Cape Cod, three unwelcome visitors appear in Tiny’s perfect life: her volatile sister Pepper, an envelope containing incriminating photograph, and the intimidating figure of Frank’s cousin Vietnam-war hero Caspian, who knows more about Tiny’s rich inner life than anyone else. As she struggles to maintain the glossy façade on which the Hardcastle family’s ambitions are built, Tiny begins to suspect that Frank is hiding a reckless entanglement of his own…one that may unravel both her own ordered life and her husband’s promising career.

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Excerpt

Tiny, 1966

C A P E C O D , M A S S A C H U S E T T S

The first photograph arrives in the mail on the same day that my husband appears on television at the Medal of Honor cer- emony. It’s accompanied by the customary note written in
block capital letters. By now, I know enough about politics—and about my husband’s family, I suppose—to suspect this isn’t a coinci- dence.
There’s no return address (of course, there wouldn’t be, would there?), but the envelope was postmarked yesterday in Boston, and the stamps are George Washington, five cents each. A plain manila envelope, letter size, of the sort they use in offices: I flip it back and forth between my fingers, while my heart bounds and rebounds against my ribs. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Frank is running for office in the dawning age of television politics. How have public perceptions of politicians changed over the years in the media, and how would Frank’s story play out today?

2. Tiny lives in a bubble, far from hippie culture in the 1960s. But how much is her journey reflected in the times?

3. Tiny is a contained person, private and full of secrets. She seeks to maintain this perfect façade. Would she feel this way if she was a man? If she were born in modern day, as opposed to earlier in the twentieth century?

4. Demands for obedience are ever present in Tiny’s life, especially in the areas of family, work, and romance. How does she confront them?

5. Discuss Caspian’s role in the family. As a veteran and the person who perhaps knows Tiny the best, what does his return mean for the Hardcastles and Tiny?

6. What role does photography play in Tiny’s story? How would this be different if her story were taking place in modern times with the Internet and social media?

7. Discuss Tiny’s time at Woodbridge Clinic. How does that play out in light of the times?

8. What do you think of Tiny’s political engagement, or lack thereof? Do you wish she had been more involved?

9. Discuss Tiny’s relationship with her family—how she does and doesn’t fit in with the Schuylers. In light of the tension between them all, why do you think family is still important to her?

10. What do you think of Mrs. Schuyler’s machinations, and her role in Caspian and Tiny’s relationship?

11. Infidelity and secrets are a running theme throughout both the Schuyler and Hardcastle families. Discuss the patterns of unfaithfulness and betrayal throughout both family histories, and how those have played out in the younger generations.

12. How is Tiny similar to and also different from her sisters? The Schuyler sisters are a complicated bunch, but Tiny is on a different path from Vivian and Pepper.

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