Autumn: A Novel

Comment on Autumn’s juxtaposition of artistic creation and political division. What is the relationship between the two phenomena?

Discuss the dynamic between Wendy and Elisabeth. Where does Wendy’s opposition to Elisabeth’s friendship stem from? How does this inform their dynamic after Elisabeth has grown up?

How does Smith frame the function of language in the novel’s broader exploration of truth, authority, and connection?

Autumn opens by echoing the famous first line of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. Beyond this direct reference, what thematic or structural parallels exist between the two novels’ depictions of a society?

How does the novel use the natural world to comment on the political and social crises of its human characters?

What does the friendship between Elisabeth and Daniel suggest about the possibilities for human connection outside of traditional familial or romantic structures?

Discuss Smith’s technique in revealing the politics of her novel, especially considering that Autumn is widely considered the first “post-Brexit novel.” How does her novel compare to another post-Brexit novel that followed, such as Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West or Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré?

Elisabeth’s academic study of Pauline Boty runs parallel to her vigil at Daniel’s bedside. What is the relationship between the act of historical recovery and the act of personal caregiving in the novel?