The Secret Book of Flora Lea

When Flora learns that she was taken as a child, she slowly uncovers two parallel sets of memories. What is the relationship between memory and storytelling? Is one more reliable, or more “true,” than the other?

Hazel blames herself for losing Flora because she put her own needs ahead of caring for her sister. Who was most at fault for Flora’s disappearance? Were Hazel’s actions misguided, or justified? How much responsibility should she have taken, and how much freedom did she deserve?

Why is Peggy’s mother so adamantly against Peggy’s relationship with Wren? How would you describe their family relationship?

Why did the British government refer to their evacuation movement as “Operation Pied Piper?” What sort of impact did the use of a fairy tale in this context have?

Why is Hazel able to fully commit to a life with Harry, but not with Barnaby? What was the real problem with Hazel and Barnaby’s relationship? Was her success with Harry due to finding the right person, or a more internal shift?

Flora/Dot is a clear example of a character with two distinct sides to herself. Is this divide apparent in any other character? Where else in the novel can you find characters or places with more than one face? What does the novel suggest about these facets?

Relationships between children and mothers (or mother figures) serve as a recurring theme throughout the novel. What is the novel’s perspective on intergenerational relationships and their effects on both parties? Are these relationships generally positive, negative, or somewhere in between?

How does the time and place in which Flora disappears affect the way the mystery is handled? What cultural, social, and political factors may have impacted how her disappearance was treated by media and the law?