Something Strange and Deadly Discussion

Crushed on by Shannon, on August 20, 2012, in Reviews / 1 Comment

Living as a member in Victorian society Eleanor has certain expectations in the way she dresses and behaves which she finds very restrictive. How do you think you would enjoy the lifestyle that her mother is continuously forcing on her?
Seances were a very common Victorian pastime at parties with the desire to make contact with the dead seen as both fun and exciting. Do you think that this has changed much over the years? If so how?
In the book, despite the best efforts of the Spirit Hunters, a lot of people seem to want to “explain away” or ignore things that they can’t explain reducing “The Dead” to stories despite so much evidence that they are around. Do you think people generally try and explain away things they don’t understand even today?
Elijah made the decision to study necromancy and the darker side of magic rather than being at home to help his mother and sister after his father died. What do you think was his motivation for doing this?
At the end of the book Eleanor doesn’t seem very distressed at the thought that she has lost everything, including her hand, and is going to have to start over. Why do you think this is? What do you think the main events were that caused the change from the beginning of the book when she was so worried about how her actions would be perceived?