Introduction

It seems like mutual good luck for Abigail Taylor and Dara MacLeod when they meet at university and, despite their differences, become friends. Years later they remain close: Abigail, the actress, allegedly immune to romance, and Dara, a therapist, throwing herself into relationships with frightening intensity. Now both beleive they've found "true love." But luck seems to run out when Dara moves into Abigail's downstairs apartment. Suddenly both their friendships and their relationships are in peril. Told through four ingeniously interlocking narratives, Margot Livesey's The House on Fortune Street is a provocative tale of lives shaped equally by chance and choice.

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Excerpt

Chapter One
The letter came, deceptively, in the kind of envelope a businesslike friend, or his supervisor, might use. It was typed on rather heavy white paper and signed with the pleasing name of Beth Giardini. Sean read the brief paragraphs twice, admiring the mixture of courtesy and menace. Perhaps it had escaped his notice that he was overdrawn by one hundred and twenty-eight pounds? As he doubtless recalled, the bank had waived the penalty last time; this time, regretfully, they must impose their normal fee. Would he kindly telephone to discuss the matter at his earliest convenience? ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Sean is characterized as someone who would rather not revisit "uncomfortable memories," and, as the anonymous letter says, "see what's right in front of (his) face." Is this tendency particular to Sean alone, or do other characters in the novel suffer from this myopia?

2. When Cameron takes Dara to the Charles Dodgson exhibit, he is trying to share something of himself with her. What makes him step back and, once again, refrain from divulging more of his inner life? Would telling Dara have helped her?

3. Is Dara deluding herself in thinking that Edward will leave his wife? How do Edward's intentions look through the eyes of other characters?

4. What role does coincidence play in the stories of all four characters? What role does it play in bringing the threads of these stories together?

5. Several characters in The House on Fortune Street are profoundly affected by a past event, which they're never able either to come to terms with, or to fully understand. What is Livesey saying about the nature of childhood memories, particularly traumatic ones.

6. Each main character in the novel has an affinity with a nineteenth century literary figure: Sean with john Keats, Cameron with Charles Dodgson, Dara with Charlotte Bronte, and Abigail with Charles Dickens. How do these "literary godparents" complement the reader's understanding of each character and his or her situation?

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Weblinks

»	Publisher's Book Info
»	Author Margot Livesey's web site

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