Discussion Questions

 

1. If this book could be said to articulate a feminist vision of some sort, what are the main features of this vision, and how compelling is it?

2. How is Africa presented by Markham in this book?

3. How does this book depict the British presence in Africa?

4. There is an unresolved authorship controversy about this book, and some believe that it was not written by Markham, but by her third husband. Does it matter who wrote the book? Some literary scholars believe that issues of authorship and the author’s intentions are entirely irrelevant to one’s critical assessment of a book. Do you agree?

5. Does Markham’s book “lack the pull of human relationships that usually carries one through a book,” as one reader has claimed?

Adapted from:https://swarthmorebookgroup.wordpress.com/