TOR TEEN
READING AND ACTIVITY GUIDE TO
REFUGE FOR MASTERMINDS
A Stranje House Novel
Ages 13–17; Grades 8–12
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The Common Core State Standards–aligned questions and activities that follow are intended to enhance your reading of Refuge for Masterminds, the third title in the Stranje House series. Please feel free to adapt this content to suit the needs and interests of your students or reading group participants.
PRE-READING ACTIVITIES
1. Refuge for Masterminds can be read as a story about protecting a vital new technology from falling into the wrong hands. Make a brainstorm list of exciting technological innovations of the past 25 years. Invite each reader to write a short essay imagining what his or her life might be like without one of the technologies on the list. Or, write a 1–3 paragraph synopsis for a fictional story in which a real-life technology is put to frightening fictional misuse.
2. The novel is set in the Regency Era, the period during which Jane Austen, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, E. T. A. Hoffmann, and Sir Walter Scott were writing. Consider this quotation from Jane Austen’s 1815 novel Emma: “Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised or a little mistaken.” Do readers agree or disagree with Austen’s observation? Why or why not?
Supports Common Core State Standards: W.8.3, W.9-10.3, W.11-12.3; and SL.8.1, SL.9-10.1, SL.11-12.1
DEVELOPING READING & DISCUSSION SKILLS
1. Early in the novel, the narrator, Jane, admits to keeping a terrible secret. Before you discover the substance of the secret, how does this admission impact your sense of Jane’s character? Despite her keeping a secret, what qualities make her seem trustworthy?
2. What are Jane’s feelings toward Mr. Sinclair? Do you think it matters to Jane that he is American? How does the special invention in Mr. Sinclair’s care affect the nature of his relationship to Jane? Describe the other romantic relationships depicted in the novel and the complexities they involve.
3. While discussing the task of protecting home, friends, and country, Maya counsels Jane, “These burdens are not yours alone to carry.” (Chapter 3) Does Jane take Maya’s advice? How is the question of whether to work in collaboration or in isolation a key motif in the novel? Cite examples from the story in your answer.
4. How is the England of this work of historical fiction in danger? Who are Lady Daneska, Ghost, and Napoleon, and how are they part of the threat to England? In Chapter 7, what dastardly act do the girls of Stranje House conclude Lady Daneska may attempt?
5. What relocation does Miss Stranje plan to enable her students to continue their work protecting the Mary Isabella and their country? How do Jane, Sera, Maya, Tess, and Georgie feel about her scheme?
6. In chapter 9, Jane observes that “The world is racing forward…” How might you explain the phrase in terms of the technology she seeks to protect, and in terms of the way Jane perceives the pace of events in her own life?
7. Who is Lord Harston? What threat does he pose to Jane? How does the author counterpoint Jane’s personal vulnerability with the risks faced by her nation, particularly in scenes that play out in London society?
8. What is the “test” the girls must pass in Chapter 13? Who administers the test? What surprises Jane about the qualities of those assessing her and why does she believe she should fail their examination?
9. Midway through the novel, Jane wonders, “Can it be that all mothers possess the power to both break and mend the souls of their children?” (Chapter 13) What about her history makes her consider this question? How would you answer Jane? What comfort might you offer her?
10. Compare the characters and interrelationships of the Patronesses with those of the Stranje House students. Are Jane and her friends the successors to the Patronesses? Cite quotations from the novel in your answer.
11. Who is the traitor inside Stranje House? How do Miss Stranje and the girls treat her once they discover her identity? Do you agree with their strategy? Why or why not?
12. Why does Miss Stranje choose Haversmythe House for the girls’ London quarters? How does this choice attest to both her grit and her cleverness?
13. How do the Haversmythe House servants react to the arrival of the girls? How do Jane and the other girls react to being thrust into society?
14. Why does Jane feel especially connected to the runt of the wolf pup brood? In what ways do the puppies offer inspiration to Jane?
15. What terrifying dream wakens Tess in Chapter 26? What actions do her dreams cause the girls to take?
16. Who is Lady Castlereagh? How might you interpret her Chapter 27 statement “Sometimes … one must run with the foxes in order to keep the chickens safe” in terms of her own behavior, and in terms of the actions of others seeking to protect England? To which characters might this statement be most aptly applied?
17. Explain the series of events that take place on the docks. Does the girls’ plan to thwart Daneska and Ghost go as planned? How and why is the plan altered? What is the result?
18. Though Jane criticizes her late parents and her brothers for gambling and disparages games of chance, might one look at her own behavior and lifestyle as one that involves a great deal of “gambling”? Explain your answer.
19. How has the relationship between Jane and Sinclair evolved by the end of the novel? What do you predict for their future? What do you hope for their future?
20. In the first chapter, Jane asks herself, “… what are we without trust?” How would you answer her question at the end of the novel?
Supports Common Core State Standards: RL.8.1-4, 9-10.1-5, 11-12.1-6; and SL.8.1, 3, 4; SL.9-10.1, 3, 4; SL.11-12.1, 3, 4.
DEVELOPING RESEARCH & WRITING SKILLS
Character
1. Throughout the novel, Jane struggles to understand how and why she is loved by her classmates, by Mr. Sinclair, and by Miss Stranje herself. From the perspective of Tess, Sera, Sinclair, Ms. Stranje, or another character, write a journal entry describing the qualities you appreciate in Jane and why you love her.
2. Jane has been ill-used by her late parents and her brothers. In the character of Lord Harston, write a letter to Jane releasing her from her engagement and sharing your thoughts about the actions of her family members. Then, in the character of Jane, write a reply to Harston.
3. Refuge for Masterminds features several characters who seem socially limited due to their national origin (American, Sinclair) or their race (Indian, Maya). With friends or classmates, discuss whether such kinds of discrimination continue in our world today. Can contemporary readers glean any insight into ways to handle discriminatory treatment from the actions of the characters in the novel?
4. Discuss the term “mastermind” as it is used in the novel. What qualities do masterminds possess? Which characters in the story could be called masterminds? How is the term applied to both protagonists and antagonists? Can being a mastermind of grand schemes be detrimental when the same skills are applied to personal situations? Why or why not?
5. Many characters in the novel are “loners” in one way or another. In the character of Miss Stranje, Madame Cho, Lady Daneska, Mr. Sinclair, or another character of your choice, write a journal entry beginning with the words “I am lonely because…” or “I choose loneliness because…”
Genre and Setting
6. Refuge for Masterminds is an “alternate history,” a work of fiction which combines real historical figures and events with fictional characters and plotlines. Create an “Alternate/History” timeline which shows the relationship between nineteenth-century European history, particularly dates related to Napoleon and Robert Fulton, and the events depicted in Kathleen Baldwin’s version of the era.
7. This novel, perhaps more than previous books in this series, can also be identified as a Regency Romance. Go to the library or online to learn about the characteristics of this literary subgenre. Then, list at least four ways this story fits into this category.
8. Go to the library or online to learn more about the real history of Almack’s Assembly Rooms and its Patronesses. Compile your findings in a short oral report to present to friends or classmates.
9. Go to the library or online to create a list of nineteenth-century inventions, such as the electric telegraph, the velocipede, the electromagnet, and Morse code. Create an informative poster describing your chosen invention, its inventor, and its impact on history.
Plot
10. In the opening chapter of the novel, Jane invokes the image of a “Gordian knot” as she ponders her troubles and responsibilities. Go to the library or online to find a definition of this term and its origins in mythology. Write a short essay explaining how this term is especially appropriate to the way Jane ultimately solves the problems with which she is presented.
11. At the novel’s end, author Kathleen Baldwin has her fictional Prince George announce his intention to meet with Napoleon. Jane and the others wonder and worry what this will mean for England. How might the next novel in the series begin? What real and “altered” historical elements might you incorporate to move the series forward? What title would you give the next book? Write 2–3 paragraphs describing your ideas, followed by an outline of the first 5–10 chapters of the story.
Themes
12. In chapter 16, Jane observes the traitor Alice’s deceptive behavior and observes that, “She won’t change. People don’t. My parents didn’t. My brothers won’t.” Do you agree? Write a poem or song lyrics reflecting your own beliefs as to whether people are, or are not, capable of change.
13. Might this novel be read as an exploration of the questions: Why do we love? Why are we loved? What answers do characters in the story find for these questions? Do all human beings struggle to answer these questions in the context of their life and work? Write a new scene in which at least two characters from the novel ponder these questions.
14. In Refuge for Masterminds, Lady Jane Moore keeps it secret that she is from a family both noble and nearly bankrupt. These tensions within her identity are key thematic elements in the novel. Find a newspaper, magazine, or online article that offers an example of how socioeconomic differences contribute to local, national, or international conflict in the world today. Share selected articles with friends or classmates and make a list of possible strategies for ending such conflicts.
Supports Common Core State Standards: RL.8.4, RL.8.9; RL.9-10.4; RL.11-12.4; W.8.2-3, W.8.7-8; W.9-10.2-3, W.9-10.6-8; W.11-12.2-3, W.11-12.6-8; and SL.8.1, SL.8.4-5; SL.9-10.1-5; 11-12.1-5.