Final discussion - The Sugar Camp Quilt

[homesteadmamma]

Please do not read if you have not finished the book

1. Page 215 states "you were not placed on the library board to think. You were included because we thought your uncle might make a donation on your behalf". Did this trouble you when you read the first part?

2. Did you think both white/colored would work at building the library?

3. Did you expect Cyrus to win the quilt? What did you think would happen to the quilt once you knew he won it? Were you surprised?

4. Why did Dorothea's parents not speak up in regards to her seeing Cyrus when they were so disinclined for her to marry him?

5. Were you surprised to find out why Mr. Nelson had been in jail.

6. What part of Mr. Nelson's secret did he consider most shameful do you think - that he had helped runaways or that he had vowed never to do so again.

7. Why is Cyrus paying Liggett?

8. Did you think Cyrus hired Mr. Liggett to threaten Constance and Abel Wright?

9. How did you feel when Miss Nadelfrau had to sell her store to Mrs. Engle? Do you think Miss Nadelfrau was colored or white?

10. What word would best describe Mrs. Engle at this point?

11. Did you think Lisa would get away with fooling them in their new disguise. Would the Old Man put the others in danger?

12. Did you think Dorothea would get the slaves across at Ligetts. Were you surprised at what happened?

13. What did you think of Old Dan placing himself in a position of becoming a hero in order to save Lisa and the kids.

14. I was totally taken back when Miss Nadelfrau was starting the Creek's Crossing Abolitionist Society. Were you?

15. What did you think of the ending of the book? Did you feel the author could have gone a bit further in the relationship between Thomas and Dorothea?

16. Having read all of Chiaverini's books, I was a little disappointed in this book. It was a good read however not like her other books. Would you read more of her books? Did you enjoy this book? And if you have read her other books, did you find this book a bit disappointing?

[Kimberlina]

1. Page 215 states "you were not placed on the library board to think. You were included because we thought your uncle might make a donation on your behalf". Did this trouble you when you read the first part?

The whole statement troubled me. How exceedingly rude can a person be?



2. Did you think both white/colored would work at building the library?

Not really. Not everyone in town is as open-monded as Dorothea and her family, including Cyrus's mother (whose name I have now forgotten.)




3. Did you expect Cyrus to win the quilt? What did you think would happen to the quilt once you knew he won it? Were you surprised?

I didn't really expect him to win- it would have made everything too "scripted." I thought his mother won the wuilt, though...and I thought she was going to get rid of it one way or another.



4. Why did Dorothea's parents not speak up in regards to her seeing Cyrus when they were so disinclined for her to marry him?

I think they wanted to allow her to do what they thought SHE wanted to do, and they also wanted not to interfere with what may have been her only chance to marry.




5. Were you surprised to find out why Mr. Nelson had been in jail.

Not at all.




6. What part of Mr. Nelson's secret did he consider most shameful do you think - that he had helped runaways or that he had vowed never to do so again.

That he had vowed not to do it again, certainly.



7. Why is Cyrus paying Liggett?

(I honestly don't remember anymore- sorry! Been a crazy, crazy week.)

For harassing Abel and Constance???



8. Did you think Cyrus hired Mr. Liggett to threaten Constance and Abel Wright?

Absolutely.




9. How did you feel when Miss Nadelfrau had to sell her store to Mrs. Engle? Do you think Miss Nadelfrau was colored or white?

It made me angry- Engel was taking advantage of everyone in the town and walking all over them. As to her race, I didn't really think about it, but I just assumed that everyone who was black was identified as such in this book because of the setting. But now that you bring it up, it certainly could go either way.




10. What word would best describe Mrs. Engle at this point?

Domineering.




11. Did you think Lisa would get away with fooling them in their new disguise. Would the Old Man put the others in danger?

I didn't really think the disguise would work the whole way. And anything that slowed them down would put them in danger.




12. Did you think Dorothea would get the slaves across at Ligetts. Were you surprised at what happened?

At this point in the bokok I wasn't really anticipating too much- just reading to see what happened. I I wasn't really surprised, though.




13. What did you think of Old Dan placing himself in a position of becoming a hero in order to save Lisa and the kids.

It was a very honorable thing of him to do, since he didn't know what would happen to him and had to assume that he would likely die.




14. I was totally taken back when Miss Nadelfrau was starting the Creek's Crossing Abolitionist Society. Were you?

No- I knew there were other abolitionists in the town, and it seems like once everything went down, they were somehow freed of the pressures of the Engel family.




15. What did you think of the ending of the book? Did you feel the author could have gone a bit further in the relationship between Thomas and Dorothea?

The book ended exactly the way I thought it would. As predicted, he was the Mr. Darcy of the book. No surprises there, and of course she could have taken the relationship further, but there really was no need to.



16. Having read all of Chiaverini's books, I was a little disappointed in this book. It was a good read however not like her other books. Would you read more of her books? Did you enjoy this book? And if you have read her other books, did you find this book a bit disappointing?

I've not read any of her other books, and this book was okay. It was pretty predictable though. I might get another of her books from the library if I can find one without going through a lot of effort....

[Julia Kimber]

1. Page 215 states "you were not placed on the library board to think. You were included because we thought your uncle might make a donation on your behalf". Did this trouble you when you read the first part?

Yes I think it was extremely rude, and the second part showed just what an ignorant woman she was.




2. Did you think both white/colored would work at building the library?

Yes I think it would if people put aside their ignorant predjudices there would be no problem.

3. Did you expect Cyrus to win the quilt? What did you think would happen to the quilt once you knew he won it? Were you surprised?

No I thought Mr Nelson would win it.

4. Why did Dorothea's parents not speak up in regards to her seeing Cyrus when they were so disinclined for her to marry him?

I think they believed she knew her own mind and also that it might be a good thing for her to marry into such an influential family despite their misgivings.

5. Were you surprised to find out why Mr. Nelson had been in jail.

No, I believed all along that it was to do with abolition.

6. What part of Mr. Nelson's secret did he consider most shameful do you think - that he had helped runaways or that he had vowed never to do so again.

I think he was ashamed that he had vowed not to help again.

7. Why is Cyrus paying Liggett?

Because he is helping him make trouble for the Wrights.

8. Did you think Cyrus hired Mr. Liggett to threaten Constance and Abel Wright?

Oh yes, I do.

9. How did you feel when Miss Nadelfrau had to sell her store to Mrs. Engle? Do you think Miss Nadelfrau was colored or white?

I think she was white but because she had anti-slavery views they made life difficult for her.

10. What word would best describe Mrs. Engle at this point?

Well putting it politely, domineering!

11. Did you think Lisa would get away with fooling them in their new disguise. Would the Old Man put the others in danger?

I was afraid that she'd be found out. I did think there was a possibility that the old man would cause them to be in danger, as he was slowing them down.



12. Did you think Dorothea would get the slaves across at Ligetts. Were you surprised at what happened?

I thought she would get them across safely although I expected someone to spot them somewhere along the journey.

13. What did you think of Old Dan placing himself in a position of becoming a hero in order to save Lisa and the kids.

I think it was a very brave thing to do considering he knew what would happen to him.

14. I was totally taken back when Miss Nadelfrau was starting the Creek's Crossing Abolitionist Society. Were you?

Yes I was as she seemed to have just given in regarding her shop.

15. What did you think of the ending of the book? Did you feel the author could have gone a bit further in the relationship between Thomas and Dorothea?

I would have liked it to have gone a bit further, but I think the author assumed that readers would draw their own conclusion.

16. Having read all of Chiaverini's books, I was a little disappointed in this book. It was a good read however not like her other books. Would you read more of her books? Did you enjoy this book? And if you have read her other books, did you find this book a bit disappointing?

I enjoyed this book immensely. I haven't read any of her other books but I certainly shall now.


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[Vannie]

1. Page 215 states "you were not placed on the library board to think. You were included because we thought your uncle might make a donation on your behalf". Did this trouble you when you read the first part?

It did not trouble me because I know that's the way things are done, even today. But I did think it was rude to explain it that way.

2. Did you think both white/colored would work at building the library?

No.

3. Did you expect Cyrus to win the quilt? What did you think would happen to the quilt once you knew he won it? Were you surprised?

It was a complete surprise that he won. I could not think he would want it or keep it.

4. Why did Dorothea's parents not speak up in regards to her seeing Cyrus when they were so disinclined for her to marry him?

I think on one hand they wanted her to marry someone like him. Also, they knew that she had a mind of her own

5. Were you surprised to find out why Mr. Nelson had been in jail.

No. abolitionists were criminals during that time.

6. What part of Mr. Nelson's secret did he consider most shameful do you think - that he had helped runaways or that he had vowed never to do so again.

I think that he was deeply ashamed that he said that he would never help runaway slaves again.

7. Why is Cyrus paying Liggett?

To make trouble for another family.

8. Did you think Cyrus hired Mr. Liggett to threaten Constance and Abel Wright?

Yes, I do.

9. How did you feel when Miss Nadelfrau had to sell her store to Mrs. Engle? Do you think Miss Nadelfrau was colored or white?

I felt bad for Nadelfrau because she really had to choice but to sell the store. She was a liberal white.

10. What word would best describe Mrs. Engle at this point?

LOL. Sort of like my ex-mother-in-law. Her word is law. She is controlling and dominering.

11. Did you think Lisa would get away with fooling them in their new disguise. Would the Old Man put the others in danger?

No, not really. I was afraid for them. The old man could cause them to loose precious time

12. Did you think Dorothea would get the slaves across at Ligetts. Were you surprised at what happened?

Yes.

13. What did you think of Old Dan placing himself in a position of becoming a hero in order to save Lisa and the kids.

I was very surprised and thought that he was brave. He knew what would happen to him.

14. I was totally taken back when Miss Nadelfrau was starting the Creek's Crossing Abolitionist Society. Were you?

I was a little surprised, but I think the store deal was the catalyst.

15. What did you think of the ending of the book? Did you feel the author could have gone a bit further in the relationship between Thomas and Dorothea?

I was surprised that we were not given a real ending. I was left thinking that maybe there will be another book to continue the story.

16. Having read all of Chiaverini's books, I was a little disappointed in this book. It was a good read however not like her other books. Would you read more of her books? Did you enjoy this book? And if you have read her other books, did you find this book a bit disappointing?

I enjoyed it somewhat. Not sure if I would read more, but, it did give me a sense of history, especially since I had actually seen a quilt like this on television.

Also. Sorry about the delayed response. I mistakenly placed Sugar Camp Quilt in my "books to be given away" pile and just found it a couple of days ago.