Sharon Rowser

Reading Group Questions

Reading Group Discussion Questions for:
THE SILK TRAIN MURDER
By Sharon Rowse

  1. What do you see as the central conflict of the book? How much of this is driven by the characters, and how much by the events as they unfold?
  2. Why is Granville so driven to save Scott’s life? Do you feel he changes as the book unfolds, and if so, in what way?
  3. Both Granville and Emily are, to some extent misfits in the world they were born into. How does each of them deal with this? In what ways does this draw them together? In what ways does it push them apart?
  4. How do you think coming back from the Klondike Gold Rush affected Granville’s life? How did it affect his relationship with Scott? How about with Emily?
  5. If you could be any of the characters, which would you be? Why?
  6. If The Silk Train Murder were to be made into a movie, how would you film it? Choose a scene and describe how you, as the director, would frame and shoot it, and why you think it would be effective.
  7. Where do you see parallels between 1899 and today, and where do you see differences?
  8. Why do you think Granville chose not to return to England? In his shoes, what would you have done?
  9. His friend Edward’s death had a profound effect on Granville: he might be said to have run all the way to the Klondike to escape his feelings of guilt. Do you agree? How does it affect his actions after Scott’s arrest, and, as he comes to terms with it over the course of the book, how does it affect his decisions about his future?
  10. Emily’s free spirit is expressed in her love of bicycling and skating. How do you think she would take to life as a typewriter, if she achieves the ambition she embraced at the end of the book?