Year 7 - Community Time readingGuided discussion pack

This reading guide is offered as a supportive tool to use alongside the novel. It is comprehensive. Please use at your discretion.

Author motivation

After finding a battered 1914 soldiers’ bible in an antique shop in Norfolk Lucy knew she had to write something that touched upon the First World War. She spent weeks researching naval battles of the First World War, early 20th Century hospitals and asylums, psychiatric treatment, and the postal service between Italy and England in the 1910s. Lucy became interested in the idea of aftermath – what happens after a war, or a death or a time of devastation, and how it is possible to find hope when it feels as though everything in the world has crumbled to dust.

Before reading

1. Visual analysisWhat do you think the themes of this book might be? What ideas or words spring to mind when you examine the images, colours and fonts used in the cover design?

2. PredictionsNow read the blurb. Using these clues and your own ideas, make predictions about what or whom Henry might discover in Nightingale Wood. You could put these predictions in an envelope to open and read again once you have finished the book.

Chapter One

Key vocabulary:

1. quotations – words, phrases or sentences taken from a text2. etched (verb) – carve onto a surface3. lichen (noun) – a plant4. dishevelled (adjective) – disorderly appearance, messy5. wraith (noun) – ghost-like, pale appearance6. runcible is a nonsense word.7. parquet (noun) – wooden flooring arranged in a pattern

Key questions:

1. What clues are there that things are very troubled in the Abbott family? Choose a selection of quotations that seem to suggest that there are problems?

2. How would you describe the relationship between Henry and her baby sister?

Chapter Two

Key vocabulary:

1. atmosphere (noun) – the tone or the mood of a place, situation or piece of work

2. character (noun) – the qualities of a person that makes them individual 3. embroidered (verb) – to add details and decorate a piece4. clenched (verb) – to close fingers into a tight ball when angry or tense5. kindling (noun) – small sticks or twigs used for lighting fires6. grated (verb) – an irritating effect7. gazebo (noun) – a small building with open sides, usually found in gardens8. ambushed (verb) – a surprise attack9. slavering (verb) – when saliva runs from your mouth, slobber, drool10. stifled (verb) – make someone unable to breathe properly11. flurry (noun) – a small swirling mass of something

Key questions:

1. What atmosphere is created through the descriptions of the woods? Try to explain the effect of particular words and phrases.

2. From what we have read so far, what have we already learnt about the character of Henry?

Chapter Three

Key vocabulary:

1. explicit (adjective) – stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt

2. implicit (adjective) – suggested, not directly expressed3. pelted (verb) – run very quickly4. earnest (adjective) – serious, sincere, intense5. encrusted (verb) – to cover or decorate something6. enchanted (verb) – fill someone with great delight or charm7. swathed (verb) – wrap in several layers of fabric8. gilded (verb) – cover thinly with gold9. loomed (verb) – appear as a vague form, large and threatening 10. tweed (adjective) – a coarse wool cloth

Key questions:

1. Why do you think Henry chooses to read the fairy tale, The Nightingale on this particular night?

2. What do we learn about Henry’s father and his relationship with Henry and his family? These ideas could be either explicit or implicit.

Chapter Four

Key vocabulary:

1. dispensing (verb) - distribute2. transfixed (verb) – cause someone to be motionless3. kneaded (verb) – work into dough or paste with the hands4. welled (verb) – develop emotion and become more intense5. humid (adjective) – a lot of moisture in the air6. faltering (verb) – to lose strength or momentum7. cawing (verb) – a harsh, grating cry

Key questions:

1. What are our impressions of Doctor Hardy? 2. ‘She had a strange expression on her face, and she was starting straight at

me.’ Why do you think Nanny Jane is looking at Henry like this? What would she be able to see and hear?

Chapter Five

Key vocabulary:

1. linguistic (adjective) – language2. structural (adjective) – arrangement of parts, organisation of a text3. wisp (noun) – a small thin or twisted bunch, piece or amount of something4. bedraggled (adjective) - dishevelled5. insolent (adjective) – showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect6. scraggy (adjective) – thin and bony7. penetrated (verb) – to go into or through something

Key questions:

1. Why do you think Henry finally decides to go into Nightingale Wood on this night?

2. How does the writer make the ‘ghastly figure’ in the woods sound frightening? What linguistic and structural techniques are used to show Henry’s fear?

Chapter Six

Key vocabulary:

1. scrawny (adjective) – unattractively thin and bony2. seared (verb) – to burn or scorch the surface3. pursed (verb) – to bring the lips together to express disapproval or irritation4. perambulator (noun) – a pram5. starched (noun) – odourless, tasteless white substance – a powder of spray

used before ironing to stiffen the fabric 6. counterpane (noun) – a bedspread7. surged (verb) – move suddenly and powerfully8. prise (verb) – use force in order to move something

Key questions:

1. What are all the different things that Henry is thinking and feeling in this chapter?

2. Why does Henry sneak into Nanny Jane’s room and what does she learn?

Chapter Seven

Key vocabulary:

1. turret (noun) – a small tower on top of a building2. apex (noun) – top or highest point of something3. becalmed (adjective) – unable to move through lack of wind4. swathes (noun) – a broad strip or area of something5. tendril (noun) – the thin stem of a climbing plant

6. peril (noun) – serious and immediate danger7. gait (noun) – a person’s manner of walking

Key questions:

1. What makes Henry think the secret attic room was once a boy’s bedroom?2. How would you feel about discovering a secret room like this all by yourself?

Excited? Frightened? Guilty?

Chapter Eight

Key vocabulary:

1. motif (noun) – a dominant or recurring idea2. harpy (noun) – a monster or grasping, unpleasant woman3. improbable (adjective) – not likely to be true or to happen

Key questions:

1. Explain what you think Henry’s imagined ‘human phoenix’ represents?2. How many references to fire can you remember from the novel so far? Why

might this be important? Keep an eye out for this motif as you read on…

Chapter Nine

Key vocabulary:

1. tension (noun) – mental or emotional strain usually a feeling of nervousness or anxiety which grows

2. trilled (verb) – produce a quavering or warbling sound3. lilt (noun) – a rising and falling of the voice when speaking

Key questions:

1. How does the writer build tension as Henry approaches the clearing in the woods?

2. How does the witch seem different this time?

Chapter Ten

Key vocabulary:

1. simile (noun) – a comparison between two things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’2. neurosis (noun) – a mild mental illness3. chronic (adjective) – persisting for a long time or constantly recurring

4. psychosomatic (adjective) – physical illness caused by conflict or stress5. sedated (verb) – calm someone or make them sleep by giving them a drug

Key questions:

1. What are the differences between Doctor Hardy and Nanny Jane in this scene, in terms of their attitudes to Henry and Mrs Abbott?

2. Read the final paragraph of the chapter again. Explain what you think the closing simile suggests about the situation and Henry’s feelings.

Chapter Eleven

Key vocabulary:

1. deceit (noun) – the action of being untruthful to deceive someone2. fragrant (adjective) – having a pleasant smell3. envied (verb) – desire to have 4. countered (speak) – spear or act in opposition to

Key questions:

1. What do you think is the significance of Henry’s Rapunzel dream?2. How do you picture the character of Robert in this scene? Choose a selection

of words and phrases that you think are important in describing his presence.

Chapter Twelve

Key vocabulary:

1. pursed (verb) – to bring the lips together to express disapproval or irritation2. concealed (verb) – to keep secret or hide3. bedraggled (adjective) – to appear dishevelled, untidy or messy

Key questions:

1. Why do you think hearing the nightingale sing is such an important experience for Henry?

2. What do we learn about the witch in this chapter?

Chapter Thirteen

Key vocabulary:

1. intricately (adverb) – in a very complicated or detailed manner2. motes (noun) – a tiny piece, a speck3. sarcophagus (noun) – a stone coffin

4. canopy (noun) – a cloth covering hung or held up over something

Key questions:

1. Choose a quotation that seems to show just how ill Mrs Abbott is. Explain what is suggested by particular words or phrases.

2. What seems to be special about the illustrations in Henry’s book of fairy tales?

Chapter Fourteen

Key vocabulary:

1. character (noun) – the mental, emotional and moral aspects that make someone individual

2. sturdy (adjective) – strong and solidly built3. paraphernalia (noun) – equipment used for a particular activity4. sentinel (noun) – a soldier or a guard whose job it is to stand and keep watch

Key questions:

1. What are your impressions of Mr Berry? Which words or phrases do you think are most important in defining his character?

2. Why is Henry frightened by the limping man? Who do you think he might be?

Chapter Fifteen

Key vocabulary:

1. chivvied (verb) – to tell someone repeatedly to do something 2. agitated (verb) – feeling or appearing troubled or nervous3. tenacious (adjective) – keeping a firm hold of something, clinging to something4. loam (noun) – a soil made up of sand, silt and clay5. tresses (noun) – a long lock of a woman’s hair6. deciphered (verb) – understand, interpret or identify something7. coursed (verb) – flowed through

Key questions:

1. Why does Henry feel that her mother is like ‘the poor miller’s daughter’ in Rumpelstiltskin?

2. What does Henry learn from Doctor Hardy’s thrown-away letter?

Chapter Sixteen

Key vocabulary:

1. ambiguous (adjective) – open to more than one interpretation2. sardonic (adjective) – grimly mocking or cynical

Key questions:

1. What do you think Moth means by describing Doctor Hardy’s treatment as ‘one prison within another’?

2. Discuss some of the strange things that Henry has experienced in the story so far. Which things are definitely real? Which things are definitely in her imagination? Are there any that are ambiguous?

Chapter Seventeen

Key vocabulary:

1. sane (adjective) – a person with sound mind2. shrill (adjective) – high-pitched and piercing

Key questions:

1. How does the writer shape our opinions of Mrs Hardy?

Chapter Eighteen

Key vocabulary:

1. frayed (adjective) – unravelled or worn at the edge2. twine (noun) – a strong thread or string3. leasing (verb) – to let out, to rent

Key questions:

1. Look at Henry’s conversation with Robert at the beginning of the chapter about being ‘the man of the house.’ What exactly does this conversation seem to be about? The novel is set in 1919; is that relevant in considering this conversation?

Chapter Nineteen

Key vocabulary:

1. plume (noun) – a long cloud of smoke or vapour resembling a feather2. tottered (verb) – move in an unstable way

Key questions:

1. Which words or phrases are important in showing us the dramatic change in Henry’s mood before and after reading her father’s letter?

2. Look at the following sentence: ‘I felt as if a hundred bluebottles had hatched inside my brain and were buzzing blindly around inside my skull.’ Explore the writer’s use of language in this sentence. What techniques can you identify?

Chapter Twenty

Key vocabulary:

1. tactic (noun) – action or strategy which is carefully planned to achieve a specific end

2. rationally (adverb) – by reasonable or logical means3. surged (verb) – move suddenly and powerfully4. billowed (verb) – fill with air and swell outwards

Key questions:

1. Do you think Henry is telling the truth when she says she did not unlock her mother’s bedroom door? What clues are there that might suggest either her guilt or her innocence?

2. Why do you think Henry goes up to the attic room? What sort of place would you want to go to if you felt this upset?

Chapter Twenty-One

Key vocabulary:

1. verge (noun) – an edge or border2. faltered (verb) – lose strength or momentum, move unsteadily3. briskly (adverb) - quick4. lurking (verb) – remain hidden so as to wait in ambush for someone or

something

Key questions:

1. Imagine you are Nanny Jane or Doctor Hardy. What exactly do you consider to be Henry’s ‘emerging symptoms’?

2. What sort of place do you imagine Helldon to be and why?

Chapter Twenty-Two

Key vocabulary:

1. metaphor (noun) – a comparison between two things saying something is something else

2. threadbare (adjective) – becoming thin and tattered with age3. gestured (noun) – a movement of the hands to express an idea or meaning4. liberty (noun) - freedom5. coax (verb) – to encourage or persuade someone to do something

Key questions:

1. Explain the metaphor Henry uses to describe the feeling in her head: ‘a thundercloud was rising, swelling and threatening to burst.’

2. Why does Henry take the yellow pills with her instead of giving them to Mama?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Key vocabulary:

1. wailed (verb) – to cry2. infectious (adjective) – to transmit, to spread 3. swiftly (adverb) - quickly4. transfixed (verb) – to cause someone to become motionless with horror,

wonder or astonishment5. quivering (verb) – to tremble or shake6. skein (noun) – a length of thread or yarn7. pelted (verb) – hurl something at or run very quickly8. soothe (verb) – gently calm9. vial (noun) – a small container usually to hold medicines

Key questions:

1. Choose a quotation from this chapter that you think is particularly powerful or moving and explain your choice.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Key vocabulary:

1. delirious (adjective) – disturbed state of mind2. hallucinations (noun) – an image, sound or smell that seems real but does not

really exist3. manoeuvred (verb) – move carefully4. sedative (noun) – a drug taken for its calming effect, a drug which will send

you to sleep5. psychosis (noun) – a mental disorder6. juggernaut (noun) – a powerful force7. conjure (verb) – cause to appear8. taut (adjective) – stretched or pulled tight9. compelled (verb) – force or oblige to do something10. summit (noun) – the highest point

Key questions:

1. Why do you think Henry imagines her father’s voice reading this story to her?2. Look again at the end of the chapter, at Henry’s description of the fairy tale

she writes. What title would you give this fairy tale?

Chapter Twenty-Five

Key vocabulary:

1. muted (verb) – to silence2. neurotic (noun) – a person who suffers with feelings of great anxiety3. delirium (noun) – a disturbed state of mind, drowsiness, disorientation and

hallucination4. slovenly (adjective) – lazy, untidy, dirty5. churning (verb) – move or cause to move about vigrously6. descending (verb) – move or fall downwards7. hereditary (adjective) – passing or capable of passing from parent to child8. comprehend (verb) – understand 9. chronic (adjective) – lasting for a long period of time or recurring10. pyrotherapy (noun) – a treatment in which an artificial fever is produced

in a patient11. pioneer (noun) – a person who helps create or develop new ideas12. immersive (adjective) – surrounding someone or something so that they

feel completely involved

Key questions:

1. Imagine you are Nanny Jane at this point in the story, writing a letter to a friend or sister you are very close to. What would you want to say to her? What thoughts, feelings or concerns would you want to share?

2. Look again at the part of the chapter in which Henry says goodbye to Piglet. Why do you think Henry imagines Piglet ‘floating in mid-air’?

Chapter Twenty-Six

Key vocabulary:

1. tack (noun) – a small nail2. cursed (verb) – an appeal for evil or misfortune to happen to someone or

something3. clammy (adjective) – unpleasantly damp and sticky4. scouring (verb) – clean or brighten the surface or something5. taunts (verb) - provoke6. pell-mell – in a disorderly way

Key questions:

1. Explore and explain how the writer shows Henry’s feelings of ANGER or FEAR in this chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Key vocabulary:

1. Allusions (noun) – an expression which makes you think of something else, an indirect or passing reference

2. intertextuality (noun) – the relationship between texts3. swerved (verb) – change direction quickly4. asylum (noun) – a home for the care of people who are considered mentally ill5. livid (adjective) – angry, furious6. consulted (verb) – seek information or advice from someone

Key questions:

1. What do you think Henry means by ‘Scars on the skin only tell the beginning of the story’?

2. Exploring literary allusions and intertextuality. Find out what Henry means when she refers to the Red King’s dream. How do you think it connects with her feelings and experiences at this point of the story.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Key vocabulary:

1. context (noun) – the circumstances that form the setting for an event2. interrogate (verb) - question3. parlour (noun) – a sitting room, a lounge4. stiflingly (adjective) – very hot and causing difficulties in breathing5. sly (adjective) – cunning, deceitful6. mocking (adjective) – making fun of someone7. sincere (adjective) – genuine, honest8. lurching (verb) – make an abrupt movement

Key questions:

1. Researching context. Choose one of the following topics to investigate and present to your class.

a. The experiences of amputees and those who were severely physically injured in the First World War.

b. Trench warfarec. ‘Shell shock’ and how it was treated during and after the First World

War.d. Victorian and early Twentieth Century treatments for the mentally ill,

including the ‘rest cure’e. British asylums and mental health hospitals

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Key vocabulary:

1. celestial imagery (noun phrase) – images that related to heaven or the sky2. divine (adjective) – god like, pleasing3. collided (verb) – hit by accident4. reeling (verb) – losing balance and staggering5. ode (noun) – a poem6. melancholy (noun) - sadness7. talisman (noun) – an object (a ring or a stone) that has magic powers / brings

luck8. crescent (noun) – curved side shape (like the moon)9. pry (verb) – to enquire into, to ask after

Key questions:

1. What are the different clues that make Henry realise that Moth is actually Mrs Young, the former occupant of Hope House?

2. Celestial imagery. ‘It is just a new moon…’ or ‘A bright star’ – choose one of these metaphors from the chapter and explain why Moth uses it and what it suggests.

Chapter Thirty

Key vocabulary:

1. archive (noun) – a collection of historical documents2. ledgers (noun) – a book of financial accounts3. stalagmites (noun) – a column rising from the floor of a cave4. furrowed (verb) – make a rut, groove or trail, mark

Key questions:

1. What is the twist at the end of this chapter? How does this change things for Henry?

2. Before you read Chapter Thirty-One, stop to write down Henry’s thoughts after she has spoken to Mr Pickergill. What do you think will be going through her mind as she walks home to Hope house?

Chapter Thirty-One

Key vocabulary:

1. wallowing (verb) – roll about or lie in mud or water, to spend time experiencing or enjoying something

2. shrapnel (noun) – fragments of a bomb or shell3. scalding (verb) – to tell off, hot4. pagan (noun) – a follower of a religion (nature)

5. ritual (noun) – a religious ceremony

Key questions:

1. What do you think Mrs Berry means when she says Doctor Hardy ‘wants to ride to glory on his coat-tails’?

2. Why do you think Henry buries the pills in the garden? What seems to be her plan? Do you think it will work?

Chapter Thirty-Two

Key vocabulary:

1. estuary (noun) – the tidal mouth of a large river2. prise (verb) – to use force in order to move3. captor (noun) – a person that catches or confines another4. straitjacket (noun) – a jacket with long sleeves tied together to restrain a

violent prisoner or mental patient

Key questions:

1. How does the writer make Mr Berry and Bert feel like a comforting presence?

Chapter Thirty-Three

Key vocabulary:

1. brittle (adjective) – hard but liable to break easily2. convulsed (verb) – suffer violent contractions of a muscle3. neurosis (noun) – a mild mental illness (depression, anxiety, obsessive

behaviour)4. flourish (verb) – to grow or develop in a healthy way

Key questions:

1. How does the writer convey the different emotions Henry experiences in this chapter?

2. Choose three quotations that you think reveal Doctor Hardy’s character and attitude in this chapter.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Key vocabulary:

1. pathetic fallacy (noun phrase) – where the weather mirrors the mood of the characters or events

2. torrent (noun) – an overwhelming outpouring of something3. nausea (noun) - sickness

4. lurched (verb) – an abrupt movement5. somnambulism (noun) - sleepwalking6. foolhardy (adjective) – bold or rash, doing things that are too dangerous or

risky7. adamant (adjective) – refusing to change one’s mind, certain

Key questions:

1. Why do you think it is significant when Henry realises it is her birthday?2. Explore the writer’s use of pathetic fallacy. Choose some quotations that

describe the weather and explain what you think they add to the impact of this chapter.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Key vocabulary:

1. colossal (adjective) – large, huge, great2. perverse (adjective) – showing a deliberate desire to behave in an

unreasonable or unacceptable way3. infinite (adjective) - limitless4. enchanted (adjective) – bewitching, captures your attention5. molten (adjective) – liquefied by heat

Key questions:

1. Why does Henry light a candle and place it in the window? Why is she tempted to blow the candle out again?

2. Explain what we learn about Henry when the book of fairy tales falls open at the picture of Hansel and Gretel in the gingerbread cottage.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Key vocabulary:

1. structure (noun) – the organisation of a text2. flashback (noun) – a scene in a film, novel etc set in a time earlier than the

main story3. personification (noun) – where an inanimate object is given human qualities4. devoured (verb) – eat hungrily or quickly5. amputated (verb) – cut off a limb by surgical operation

Key questions:

1. Exploring structure: why do you think the writer has chosen this moment in the story for the flashback to the night of Robert’s death? Why is this chapter so important in the novel?

2. How does the writer use personification to describe the fire?

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Key vocabulary:

1. emerged (verb) – to appear2. lapped (verb) – to overtake3. teetered (verb) – to move or balance unsteadily

Key questions:

1. How has the atmosphere changed at the beginning of this chapter?2. What do you think Moth means when she says ‘Mrs Young is dead’?3. What do you think Henry’s plan will be? What would you want to do if you

were in her situation?

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Key vocabulary:

1. vain (adjective) – having an excessively high opinion of oneself2. gratitude (noun) – quality of being thankful or grateful3. disarming (adjective) – using charm to alleviate feelings of suspicion or

hostility4. sincere (adjective) - genuine5. feeble (adjective) - weak6. retrieving (verb) – to get or bring something back7. thwarted (verb) – to prevent someone from accomplishing something

Key questions:

1. What do you think is revealed about Moth’s character in the first part of this chapter?

2. Look again at what Henry says and does in this chapter. How has her character developed since the beginning of the story?

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Key vocabulary:

1. intently (adverb) – fixed firmly on something2. plummet (verb) – to fall3. coils (verb) – to wrap around4. cavernous (adjective) – giving the impression of vast, dark depths5. pungent (adjective) – strong taste or smell

6. caustic (adjective) – able to burn through the use of chemicals, sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way

Key questions:

1. ‘I didn’t know if I had the strength to go on being brave for much longer, so it was far better not to give myself a choice.’ Discuss with a partner what you think it means to truly be brave. What are the different definitions of bravery within society and from an individual’s perspective?

2. Why do you think Henry remembers the quotation, ‘And welcomes little fishes in with gently smiling jaws’ at this moment?

Chapters Forty and Forty-One

Key vocabulary:

1. Tension (noun) – mental or emotional strain2. Similarities (noun) – when two or more things have a likeness3. differences (noun) – when two or more things bear no similarities4. deft (adjective) – skilful and quick in one’s movements5. megalith (noun) – a large stone that forms a prehistoric monument6. scornfully (adverb) – acting towards someone with contempt as though they

are worthles7. guffawed (verb) – laugh loudly and heartily8. ignorance (noun) – to have no knowledge of9. impotently (adverb) – lacking power or ability10. charade (noun) – the pretence of something

Key questions:

1. How does the writer create tension during Henry’s attempt to rescue Mama from Helldon.

2. What are the similarities and differences between the two doctors in these chapters?

Chapter Forty-Two

Key vocabulary:

1. radiant (adjective) – to glow brightly2. audible (adjective) – sound, able to be heard3. hoarsely (adverb) – speak with a rough or grating sound in their voice4. enveloping (verb) – to surround

Key questions:

1. What do we discover about Mama in this chapter? And what do we discover about Moth?

2. Choose a quotation from this chapter that you think is poignant and try to explain why.

Chapter Forty-Three

Key vocabulary:

1. Embraces (verb) – hold someone closely

Key questions:

1. What do you consider to be the difference between being ‘lost’ and ‘not wanting to be found’? What are the different ways in which a person can be lost? How might these ideas apply to different characters in this story?

Chapter Forty-Four

Key vocabulary:

1. lain (verb) – to lie2. bucking (verb) – to oppose or resist3. unequivocal (adjective) – having no doubt4. fragrant (adjective) – having a pleasant or sweet smell

Key questions:

1. Why, at first, does Henry not want Mama to go to Doctor Wolfgang Berger’s clinic in London? In what ways do we think this doctor might be different from Doctor Chilvers and Doctor Hardy?

Chapter Forty-Five

Key vocabulary:

1. Homophones (noun) – two or more words that are pronounced the same way but have different meanings

2. resigned (adjective) – having accepted something that one cannot do anything about

3. transpires (verb) – where something is revealed4. tact (noun) – skill in dealing with others or with difficult issues

Key questions:

5. This novel is set almost a year after the end of the First World War. ‘Peace was not, apparently, simply the absence of war.’ This is Henry’s thought on

hearing her father and Mr Pickergill discuss the political situation in Europe. What do you think she means by this?

6. Explain the confusion over the homophones son and sun. Why do you think Father becomes very emotional at this point?

Chapter Forty-Six

Key vocabulary:

1. flotilla (noun) – a small fleet of ships or boats2. conceded (verb) – admit or agree about something after initially disagreeing3. murky (adjective) – dark and gloomy4. spindle (noun) – a rounded rod which is used in hand spinning to twist and

wind thread from wool5. ablaze (adjective) – burning fiercely

Key questions:

1. Look at the description of Hope House in this chapter: ‘shambolic and beautiful, leaning slightly towards us, as if it were a friendly eavesdropper.’ How has Henry’s perception of Hope House changed since the beginning of the novel?

2. What do we learn about Mr Pickersgill in this chapter? How has his character developed?

Chapter Forty-Seven

Key vocabulary:

1. darning (verb) – to mend a garment2. brimming (verb) – to be full to the point of overflowing3. discreet (adjective) – careful in order to keep something confidential or avoid

embarrassment4. arched (adjective) – constructed in the form of arches

Key questions:

1. How is the reader encouraged to sympathise with Mr Pickersgill in this chapter?

2. How does the atmosphere change at the very end of this chapter?

Chapter Forty-Eight

Key vocabulary:

1. predatory (adjective) – preying on others2. sinister (adjective) - evil

3. admonished (verb) – reprimand firmly4. slumbering (verb) - sleep5. embers (noun) – small piece of burning wood or coal in a dying fire6. solemn (adjective) – formal and dignified

Key questions:

1. What do you think Henry means by ‘Real people simply did not fit the neat black-and-white-patters of fairy tales’?

Chapter Forty-Nine

Key vocabulary:

1. relented (verb) – to give in2. immovable (adjective) – not able to be moved3. bewilderment (noun) – a feeling of being perplexed and confused4. benefactor (noun) – a person who gives money to a person5. elusively (adverb) – a person who is hard to find or capture6. bridle (verb) – to show resentment or anger

Key questions:

1. How have things in the Abbott household changed since the beginning of the novel?

2. Look again at the paragraph about Robert as Henry walks through Nightingale Wood. Why do you think Henry’s brother has stopped appearing?

3. What is the significance of the wreath Moth throws into the sea?

Chapter Fifty

Key vocabulary:

1. ragging (verb) – to give a decorative affect to2. mottled (verb) – mark with spots or smear with colour

Key questions:

1. What are the important things that happen surrounding the character of Piglet in this final chapter?