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Here are some suggested questions to help guide discussion for reading groups and book clubs:
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1) WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE character in the story? Why do you like this character?
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2) WHO IS YOUR LEAST favourite character in the story? Why do you dislike the character?
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3) WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE scene in the story? Why?
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4) FROM A YOUNG AGE, Beatrice has been considered naughty, wayward, reckless, troublesome, and chaos-ridden. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?
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5) BEATRICE IS THE youngest of the three princesses and has been given the appellation of the Recalcitrant One. How does she develop throughout the story? (Hint: has her character changed or merely the impressions of her held by others?)
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6) CRISTABEL NOTES that ‘Nothing has ever stopped Beatrice from doing what she thought was right’. How has Beatrice demonstrated this independent, conscientious sense of personal responsibility in contrast to other characters in the story?
7) Beatrice meets the royal cousins, Caspar and Melchior, in quick succession and forms a different impression of each. Why do you think Beatrice trusts Melchior and considers him ‘good’ despite his fearsome appearance, in contrast to Caspar?
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8) THE THREE PRINCESSES and Melchior and Prince Xavier all mention doing their ‘duty’ and doing what is ‘right’. Do they mean the same thing? How have they each demonstrated this in the story?
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9) BEATRICE MAKES MANY friends in the story. What qualities do you think Beatrice embodies that earns her their friendship?
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10) BEATRICE STATES that ‘Many things have been said about me, but that does not mean that they are true’. Similarly, Melchior asks ‘Do you believe all the tales told about me—especially the ones spread by Ossaia?’ Have you ever faced a similar situation? How did you deal with it?
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11) WHAT THEMES AND motifs do you recognise in the story? (Hint: fire, animals, the number three, certain colours, fairness of trials, the composition of the royal guard and various members of the royal household of Trasimene.)
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12) WHAT ROLE DO ANIMALS play in the story? (Hint: compare and contrast Midnight, Thunderbolt and Lemondrop to the ortolans and the red fox and field mouse.)
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13) THE ABBESS TELLS Beatrice: ‘Honour is purchased by the deeds we do.’ How has Beatrice and the other characters in the story demonstrated this? (Note: can you find the identity of the English playwright who originally wrote the words spoken by the abbess?)
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14) DO YOU THINK THAT the jewel of the Black Mountain saved the kingdom of Trasimene? Why or why not?
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15) MELCHIOR TELLS BEATRICE that the jewel of the Black Mountain recognises good qualities such as kindness, valour, and purity of heart. What other qualities does Beatrice possess? What qualities do the other possessors of the jewel (such as Melchior, his cousin Balthazar, and his uncle King Eldred) possess? Do you think these qualities are good or bad?
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16) SEVERAL BATTLES feature in the story. How many can you list and how do you think they were won? (Hint: not all of the battles involved bloodshed.)
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17) CONSIDER THE SUBPLOT involving Liam and Lord Peregrine’s son, Edmund, and Lord Mowbray’s son: compare and contrast the development of their characters.
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18) DARKNESS, NIGHT, and the colour black feature prominently in the story. What do you think they represent?
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19) WHAT DO YOU THINK the story says about appearances and the nature of evil? (Hint: refer to the speech that Beatrice gives just before the final battle between Trasimene and Ossaia in which she unveils the true character of Prince Xavier to the kingdom.)
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20) FOLLOWING THE FINAL battle between Trasimene and Ossaia, Beatrice increasingly doubts her fitness to rule. Do you agree? What do you think are the qualities of a good king / queen / leader?
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21) THE MILL OWNER’S daughter asked: ‘So Melchior and Beatrice were actually friends?’ How did Melchior and Beatrice show their friendship towards each other? What do you think are the qualities of a good friend?
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22) IF YOU WERE TO WRITE an epilogue to this story, how would you end it?
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23) BONUS QUESTION: the name of the kingdom of Trasimene, and some of Beatrice’s exploits, borrow from historical fact. Can you find the story of the famous Carthaginian general who changed the face of history?