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Reading Group Questions

  1. At first glance, Harriet Westerman and Gabriel Crowther make an unusual team. How does their relationship develop throughout the novel? What different skills do they bring to the investigation?
  1. “…the plot is serpentine and satisfying, with enough false trails and distractions to create a genuine mystery” Daily Telegraph

    Were you thrown off the scent by any red herrings? Did you solve the mystery before Harriet and Gabriel did?
  2. In what ways are the characters in the novel constrained by class and social standing?
  3. The book is set in the late 18th Century. Did you learn anything new about this period of history?
  4. What does the novel say about the position of women in society during this period? In what ways does Harriet Westerman defy expectations of women and in what ways does she conform to them?
    6. Instruments of Darkness is filled with intriguing characters. Which characters did you particularly enjoy and why?

    7. Gabriel Crowther is a man of science and logic. Does he ever exhibit a more emotional side? When and why?

  1. “…time in battle can do strange things to the spirits of the bravest men”

    How does war impact upon the characters in the novel?
9. Many characters in Instruments of Darkness are confined; some by class, some by sex, some by wealth, some by their secrets, but all by the expectations of society. How does the novel examine social convention, and the dangers of stepping outside your allotted place? How can Harriet’s longing to be more than just a wife and mother be realised? How have things changed in the past two hundred years?
  1. How is ambition and the desire for social mobility, still a resonant theme today, explored in the novel?
  1. How does Imogen Robertson draw on her experience as a director to use a filmic technique in revealing the strands of the story and bringing a contemporary edge to her perfectly judged historical style?
  1. What do we learn about the threads of society pulling together to make a village, a town or a city work, and what happens when any one of these threads is cut?

FURTHER READING:

THE INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST Iain Pears
THE BONE GARDEN Tess Gerritsen
THE STREET PHILOSOPHER by Matthew Plampin
THE SUSPICIONS OF MR WHICHER by Kate Summerscale
THE NAME OF THE ROSE by Umberto Eco
THE RESURRECTIONIST by James Bradley