The Secret Keeper

Discuss The Isolation of Secrets in the novel and the costs and consequences to each major character of the secrets they keep. What power do secrets have? When are secrets protective, and when do they cause harm? Which character do you think is the secret keeper referred to by the title? Cite specific examples from the text to support your conclusion.

Examine the love affairs within the novel and discuss the role that love plays in the story. Discuss what other elements the novel suggests need to exist within a relationship—trust, companionship, shared interests or backgrounds, etc.—that help bond people. You might wish to incorporate the occurrences of instant attraction and discuss how these add to or elaborate on the theme of love.

Discuss the importance of Losing and Finding Family in the novel and what family means to each of the main characters. What conclusions can you draw from the various ways familial relationships are portrayed? What does family offer or ensure for the characters and what is the impact when they are lost? You might also discuss the lengths characters pursue to find or preserve a family, and whether the novel suggests these actions are justified.

Explore the impact of World War II on the novel. How does the war influence the earlier storyline as setting and context? Do the main characters interact with the demands and devastation of war in different ways? What message does the novel convey about Surviving War and Trauma?

Compare the various homes that appear throughout the novel: Greenacres, Lady Gwendolyn’s house, and Dolly’s boardinghouse are all examples. You may also wish to compare Vivien’s house in Campden Grove or the flat Jimmy finds for him and his father after theirs is bombed. What is the significance of these homes to the characters in the novel? What function do they serve? Use details from the text to support your claims.

After you have read The Secret Keeper the first time for the surprise twist, read again with an eye for detecting how Morton plants clues that direct the reader to certain conclusions. In what ways does she misdirect the reader or plant red herrings to guide their beliefs? In what ways does she support the final reveal? How does the reading experience change once the reader knows the central secret?

Discuss how the characters of Laurel, Dolly, and Vivien function as foils to one another. What qualities, experiences, goals, and desires do these women share? In what key ways are they different? In what ways does Morton nuance the novel’s larger themes through these characters varied perspectives?

Discuss how acting or role-playing functions throughout the novel. Laurel pursues acting as a career; Dolly likes to assume different identities; Vivien chooses to inhabit a different identity altogether. What do you make of the novel’s treatment of these variations on play-acting? How does it connect to the novel’s larger preoccupation with dreams, fantasy, and the power of imagination? Cite specific examples from the text to support your argument.