Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Autumn opens with a variation on a famous line from Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times” (3). How did this opening set the tone for you, and in what ways did the novel explore what it means to live in “the worst of times”?

2. Knowing that this is the first book in Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet, how did that influence your reading experience? Did Autumn feel like a complete story on its own, or did it leave you feeling that you needed to read the next installment to fully grasp its meaning?

3. The story balances a bleak, divided political landscape with moments of humor, wordplay, and deep affection. Which aspect of the book was most memorable for you, the political commentary or the personal story of Elisabeth and Daniel? How did these two threads interact for you?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. What did you make of the deep, lifelong friendship between Elisabeth and Daniel? Think about a significant intergenerational relationship in your own life, whether with a mentor, family member, or friend. What aspects of Elisabeth and Daniel’s bond felt familiar or particularly moving to you?

2. Elisabeth faces frustrating bureaucratic hurdles at the Post Office, where rules seem more important than people. Have you ever had a similar experience where you felt powerless against an impersonal system? How did Elisabeth’s reactions compare to how you felt in that situation?

3. How did you respond to Wendy’s transformation from a weary, resigned person into a passionate activist? Has a public event ever prompted you or someone you know to take a stand or change your perspective in a significant way?

4. Daniel teaches Elisabeth to see the world differently, from playfully reinterpreting her name to finding stories in everyday objects. In your own life, what helps you find wonder or adopt a fresh perspective, especially during challenging times?

5. When Elisabeth rediscovers Pauline Boty’s art, she pursues it as her passion despite her tutor’s dismissal. Can you recall a time when you followed your own interests or beliefs, even when they went against conventional wisdom or advice? What did you learn from that experience?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel is often called the first “post-Brexit novel,” capturing the social and political fractures in the UK after the 2016 referendum. How effectively do you think Smith portrays the atmosphere of a divided nation? What elements, like the fence or the xenophobic incidents, felt most resonant or chillingly accurate?

2. Boty was a real artist whose work was largely forgotten for decades. What does her inclusion in the novel suggest about which histories get preserved and which get erased, particularly concerning female artists and creators? Why do you think some voices are marginalized in our cultural memory?

3. The story references the 1963 Profumo Affair, a scandal that blurred the lines between private lives and public politics. How does the novel use this historical event to comment on themes of truth, media manipulation, and power in its own contemporary setting?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What effect did the novel’s non-linear structure have on your reading experience? How did shifting between Daniel’s dreams, Elisabeth’s present, and flashbacks to their shared past shape your understanding of themes like memory and time?

2. The high-security fence is a powerful symbol in the book. How does its meaning develop from a physical barrier into a metaphor for the national mood? What is the significance of the fence being doubled later in the story?

3. Daniel is a keeper of stories, from his memories of Boty to the storytelling game he plays with Elisabeth. In what ways does his character represent an alternative, more humane way of recording history compared to official narratives?

4. How does the recurring motif of trees and leaves connect to the novel’s ideas about life, death, and renewal? Consider its appearance in Daniel’s dreams, the seasonal setting, and the defiant painting on the vandalized house.

5. The narrative contrasts the playful, imaginative language used by Daniel and Elisabeth with the rigid, bureaucratic jargon of the Post Office and other officials. Where did you find this contrast most striking, and what do you think Smith is saying about the power of words to either connect or divide people?

6. Elisabeth is an academic who studies art, yet she feels like her own formal writing is “blah” and inadequate. What does the novel suggest about the relationship between academic knowledge and a more personal, intuitive understanding of art and life?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were to create a collage in the style of Boty to capture the mood of our current times, what kinds of images, figures, and symbols would you choose to include?

2. Elisabeth invents the “Spencer-Barnes Agency” to demand royalties for Daniel’s song (236). If you were working for this fictional agency, what other creative, slightly subversive project would you undertake to support an artist or push back against an injustice you see in the world?

3. The novel closes with the image of a single rose blooming in the cold of November. Imagine you’re writing a brief epilogue to Daniel and Elisabeth’s story. What happens in the first conversation between them after he asks her what she’s reading?