1. How well did the book portray the nightlife of eighteenth-century London? Could you picture the entertainments of the beau monde? And the world of the sex trade? Where and how did those two worlds meet? How did the latter imitate the former?
2. In Caro and Agnetti’s first meeting, they debate the rights and wrongs of the Georgian sex trade. Did you have sympathy with either point of view? How similar was their argument to today’s debates about prostitution?
3. In what ways did the book portray the eighteenth-century’s obsession with the classical world of Greece and Rome? Why do you think the author chose the four quotes from the Oresteia to begin each part of the novel?
4. Artifice and concealment are a second theme of the book. Can you think of examples from the plot? Or from characters? Or in the background details? Can you think of similar examples from contemporary society? Do you think we are we more or less concerned with appearance today?
5. Did you like Caro as a character? Did you sympathize with her predicament? How did the book make you feel about the double standards that existed for women and men in the eighteenth century when it came to sex and adultery? What do you think Harry’s decision will be about Caro and his marriage?
6. What did you think about the power of money, commerce and debt in eighteenth-century society? How did you feel about the choices that Peregrine Child made in the book? Did he retain your sympathy as a character?
7. Did Pamela’s story help you understand why women were drawn to prostitution? Did her choices change the way you felt about her as a victim? How reliable was she as a narrator?
8. How well did the three narrative strands in the story mesh together? Did Pamela’s story in the past help you better understand the murder inquiry in the present? Did you enjoy the contrast between Caro and Child’s distinct spheres of investigation?
9. How did you feel about the way the book portrayed relations between women and men in the eighteenth century? Were there differences and similarities to today’s society?
10. How did you feel about the character of Jacobus Agnetti? Did your opinion of him change throughout the book? How big a surprise was the revelation about the Agnetti marriage at the end of the book?