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Adam & Eve

The final novel

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Adam & Eve: book club questions

STOP. FINISH THE NOVEL FIRST.

Every one of these questions gives something away. Do not read them, and do not hand them round, until your whole group has finished the novel. They will keep.

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10 questions, allow 60 to 90 minutes

Adam & Eve is my final novel, and I would like it to start one more good argument.

Two children are born on the same day, on the same estate, in the hour the First World War ended. One of them in the great house, one of them in a cottage on the land. The novel took me fourteen or fifteen drafts.

These are the questions I would put to your group if I were sitting in your front room with you. One or two of them I still cannot answer myself.

A warning before you start. These questions assume you have finished the book. If you have not, go away and read it first. I shall wait.

— Jeffrey Archer


The Hall and the cottage

  1. Class and destiny. Adam and Eve are born on the same day, Eve in the great house and Adam in a cottage on the same estate. How far can talent and determination carry somebody over the barriers of class? And have those barriers really changed in the century since the two of them were born?
  2. Love across the divide. Eve chooses Adam again and again, over men her own world would have found far more acceptable. What do you think drives that loyalty? Is it romantic idealism, or did I ground it in something more practical?
  3. The nature of service. Mr Frampton has given his whole life to the Brancasters, and Mr Carter serves the King at Sandringham. Did I romanticise a life in service, or did I show you honestly what duty and loyalty cost the people who give them?

The women of Brancaster

  1. The women behind the scenes. Victoria, Maisie and the Dowager Countess each play a quiet part in shaping what happens, and all three do it largely outside any formal position of power. I wanted you to see where the influence sits in a house like Brancaster. How well did I show it, and what does it tell you about how history is actually made?
  2. Eve as a modern woman. Eve defies what is expected of her at almost every turn. She farms and she leads, and she will not let marriage define her. Did I make her a woman ahead of her time, and which moment of hers stayed with you longest?
  3. Victoria’s final act. What Victoria decides to do at the climax of the novel is as dramatic as anything in it. Did you believe it of her, given everything you knew about her by then? And what does it tell you about how far grief and love can drive a person?

Friends and enemies

  1. Martin Fisher. Martin is charming and intelligent, and he is patient in his deception. What makes him such an effective villain? Be honest. Did your feelings about him shift at any point? And what does he tell you about how we misjudge people in real life?
  2. The tragedy of Hans Köhler. Hans read modern languages with Adam at Trinity, and he stands for the ordinary, decent people on both sides of that war. His part in the novel is brief, and I meant it to matter. How did he change the way you think about the Second World War, and about national identity?

History, and how it ends

  1. History as backdrop. The abdication, the coronation, the Berlin Olympics, Dunkirk and the Blitz all run through Adam and Eve’s story, and every one of them is real. Did the history raise the stakes for you, or were there moments when it crowded out the people?
  2. Legacy and remembrance. I end the novel with a simple record of what became of everybody in it. Why do you think I chose to close it that way? And what does it say, in the end, about how we should measure a life well lived?

Take the questions with you

All questions, free to print and hand round your group.

DOWNLOAD THE QUESTIONS

Questions readers ask about the Adam & Eve book club

Are there official book club questions for Adam & Eve?

Yes. There are ten official book club questions for Adam & Eve, published by Jeffrey Archer on jeffreyarcher.com for reading groups who have finished the novel. They are grouped into four themes and are free to read and to download as a one-page printable sheet.

Do the Adam & Eve book club questions contain spoilers?

Yes. The Adam & Eve book club questions assume the group has finished the novel, and several of them discuss major characters and the ending directly. Groups should read the whole novel before opening the question sheet.

How long does an Adam & Eve book club discussion take?

Allow 60 to 90 minutes to work through all ten Adam & Eve book club questions. Groups with less time should take one of the four themed sections, which gives two or three questions and around half an hour of discussion.

Everything else readers ask about the book, the title, the ending and the edition is answered on the FAQ page.

All 24 questions answered

Read the story behind the story.

Is Adam and Eve Based on a True Story? The Real History Behind My Final Novel

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