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Emily and Clemmie are cousins and dearest friends and have shared an idyllic childhood in the Dorset countryside. However they are very different in character. How do their differences add to the tension of the story and in their attitudes to love and romance?
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Appearances can be deceptive. In what ways do you think this cliché is true within the novel?
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The heat and isolation of the desert seem to affect how people think and behave in unexpected ways. There are several examples of this in the novel. Why do you think the extreme conditions should alter behaviour and are decisions made in these unusual circumstances likely to hold good outside this particular environment?
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Clemmie’s love story is referred to as a mediaeval courtly romance and also as a fairy tale. How far do you think she has thought through her decision not to return to the UK? Should practical considerations have moderated her behaviour and if they had, what would she have lost?
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The two love stories are separated by over sixty years. How far does the one mirror the other, and what did Great Aunt Mary hope to achieve by insisting the girls should go to Mali?
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How far are the various relationships resolved by the end of the novel ?
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A sense of place is important in this novel. To the girls’ surprise they discover that their home in rural Dorset shares some striking similarities with remote West Africa. How can this be explained?
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Friendship is nearly as important as romance in this story. How far should a friend feel responsible for another and to what extent should kindly intervention in their life be acceptable?
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Do you think the novel would have been different if the author hadn’t made the same journey as Emily and Clemmie into the desert?
