Austin Chapter
Reader's Guide

In the preface, Lively says, "My childhood is no more-or less-interesting than anyone else's. It has two particularities." How do you respond to the first statement, and what are some of the effects of these "particularities?"
How successful is the author in looking "both at the way in which a child sees and at how this matches up with what it was that was seen"? What are some examples?
There are many memories from Lively's childhood that stand out in bold relief, which survive "firmly hitched to the physical world." What are some that struck you as most unusual or interesting? Did any of them spark equally vivid memories of your own childhood? If so, what are they?
What role does "class" play in her young life? What are some instances of a beginning awareness of it?
Lucy, her nurse-governess, was the central adult in Penelope's childhood. Who were some of the other people, adults and children, in her early life and how did they figure in it? How did she sort out the different nationalities and allegiances represented?
What were the positives and negatives of Penelope's education with Lucy and lessons from the Parents National Educational Union? Long-term influence?
She says, "Once I saw the world differently, and correctly." How so?
Penelope is uprooted on the brink of adolescence from everything she has known. Lucy is still by her side, but for only a short while. How does she manage to cope with this traumatic change?