Q. Writers often use bits and pieces of their own experiences in creating a character or in building a character’s experiences. In writing this book did you consciously use any events from your own life to help bring the story alive?
A. I did. The character of Cressida Prior is an exaggeration—though not a huge one!—of two awful bosses I had many, many years ago. I had some fun writing La Prior, and especially enjoyed writing Amy’s moment of triumph over the woman who had made her life miserable for an entire summer. Also, an experience I had when I was a little girl in our local library informs Hayley’s experience as an eight-year-old reading the biography of Peter the Great. In my case, it was an historical novel about a boy who runs off to sea and has thrilling adventures. I remember being engrossed in the tale until a woman came up to me and said, “You shouldn’t be reading that. That’s a book for boys.” I was thoroughly confused. Why couldn’t a girl read about life-threatening storms, pirates, and buried treasure? I’m happy to say that I ignored the woman’s remark.
Q. What’s next for you?
A. I’m working on a novel about a reunion of dear college friends around the age of forty. The group is gathering for the wedding of one of the women. Though they’ve all stayed in touch over the twenty years since graduation, each of the characters has a secret or two he or she has been keeping from the others. When these secrets emerge during the course of the week leading up to the wedding, emotional chaos ensues. It’s a fun and challenging story to write and a bit different from my most recent novels. I hope everyone will like it!
A READING GROUP GUIDE
THE SUMMER NANNY
Holly Chamberlin
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The suggested questions are included
to enhance your group’s reading of
Holly Chamberlin’s The Summer Nanny!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. There are as many reasons why people stay in an abusive relationship as there are abusive relationships. Talk about Nora and Eddie’s marriage and why both parties might choose to stay in it. What about Cressida and Will’s marriage? When Amy asks Will what he gets out of the union he says, “I’d tell you if I knew.” Why might Cressida remain in the marriage? There are no definitive answers here, so use your imagination!
2. Leda thinks about her husband, Charlie, and admits that “she hadn’t really known the man she had married.” Talk about Leda’s reasons for marrying and compare and contrast those reasons to the reasons that inform Hayley’s “plan” to marry Ethan Whitby. In both instances, marriage appears as a sort of refuge or way out of an untenable situation. Is a marriage based on this premise doomed to fail? Or might it on occasion prove satisfactory to both parties?
3. It has sometimes been said that odious women attract the nicest of men. Talk about this observation and how—assuming there is some truth to it—the phenomenon might be explained. Again, use your imagination!
4. Consider how an abusive experience early in life can negatively affect the future of the victim. Consider Leda’s seduction by Lance Stirling. Consider Hayley’s sad home life. Consider, too, Amy’s experience at the hands of Cressida Prior. By the end of the book, how successfully have these women managed to rise above the damage inflicted upon them?
5. Hayley is thinking about her brother, Brandon. “It had to be true that sometimes doing nothing to help a person was better than doing the wrong thing.” Do you agree with this notion? Is it futile to offer help to a person who doesn’t want help? Is it a duty to do what we can to assist someone we think is in need, even if there’s a chance our actions are misguided and might cause more harm than good?
6. Talk about the nature of gifts and givers as expressed in the book. How does Cressida as a giver rate against Leda’s friend Missy? How can gifts function as emotional shackles? What does it really mean to give a gift unselfishly and without strings?
7. Consider the notion of success as variously defined throughout the course of the book. How does Leda’s definition of success, defined more by hard-won recognition and public appreciation, differ from that of Cressida Prior’s definition as something achieved only by winning the top prize? How does Amy’s notion of success change during the course of the summer? Discuss the nature of Hayley’s dream of a successful life. Consider as well the opening quote by Helen Keller: Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.
8. Talk about envy as motivation for action. Leda is aware that her envy of Amy’s relationship with Cressida Prior largely fuels her decision to enter the FAF’s annual competition. How does she feel about this? Discuss competition (male) versus cooperation (female) as two alternative methods for approaching the world. Leda comes to realize that tooting one’s own horn isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as one doesn’t let the habit get out of hand. Do you agree?
9. On a related note, what do you think motivates successful women like (the fictional) Cressida Prior who refuse to help other women achieve their career goals? What do you think motivates successful women like (the fictional) Marisa Whitby and Jillian Roseveare, who do choose to help other women succeed in their own right?
10. Has anyone in your reading group worked as a nanny or an au pair? If so, would you share your experience with the others in the group? Has anyone hired a nanny or an au pair for her or his children? Was it a positive experience for your family?
The Summer Nanny Page 40