Guilty by Definition

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. This novel fits into the “amateur sleuth” subgenre. How did you feel this concept worked with lexicographers as detectives? The guide compares the series to Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. If you’ve read that series, how do you think the two compare in their approach to amateur investigation?

2. What was your initial theory about the identity and motivation of “Chorus”? How did your suspicions shift and how did you react when Gabriel’s role was finally revealed?

3. Did the final reveal of Olivia as the killer and Jonathan as her accomplice feel earned and satisfying to you? What clues, if any, did you notice throughout the story that pointed toward her involvement?

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

1. The story explores ambition that comes at the expense of loyalty. Think about a time you’ve seen professional goals conflict with personal relationships, either for yourself or others. How do you navigate the balance between personal ambition and loyalty to friends, family, or colleagues?

2. Martha spends much of the novel grappling with guilt and the feeling of living in her sister’s shadow. Have you ever felt overshadowed by a sibling, friend, or colleague? How did that dynamic shape your own choices or sense of self?

3. Martha’s idealized memory of Charlie is slowly dismantled. Can you recall a time when your perception of someone changed significantly after learning something new about them? How did that new information reshape your understanding of your relationship?

4. The team at the Clarendon English Dictionary has a complex dynamic. How do the workplace relationships in the novel compare to environments you’ve experienced? What do you think makes a professional team supportive versus toxic?

5. Alex Monroe keeps her successful career as a horror novelist a secret, partly to avoid hurting her son’s feelings. Have you ever chosen to keep a part of your life or an achievement private to protect someone else? What are the challenges of compartmentalizing different aspects of your identity?

6. The novel is steeped in a love for words, their histories, and their hidden meanings. Did reading about the lexicographers’ work change your own relationship with language? Did you find yourself paying more attention to the origins or nuances of words after finishing the book?

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

1. One of the book’s central themes is the recovery of History’s Silenced Voices, particularly those of women like the fictionalized account of Joan Hart. Where do you see similar efforts to rediscover the forgotten contributions of marginalized people in our world today?

2. The story is set in the competitive and prestigious world of Oxford academia. What does the novel suggest about the pressures of working in such an elite institution? How might this high-stakes environment contribute to the desperate actions taken by characters?

3. Jonathan Overton leverages his status as a charismatic public intellectual to manipulate others and conceal his crimes. In what ways does the novel explore the power imbalances that can exist in mentor-student relationships or between public figures and those in their professional orbit?

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

1. How does the author use Simon Turner’s character arc as a tragic foil to the other lexicographers? What does his descent reveal about the destructive potential of professional envy and resentment?

2. The Chorus letters are a central motif in the novel. Do you see the letters primarily as a cry for help from Gabriel, a carefully constructed test for the team, or a manipulative tool to force a confrontation? How does their function change over the course of the novel?

3. Charlie Thornhill is physically absent but remains a powerful and complex presence. How does the author build Charlie’s personality through the conflicting memories of others? What are the effects of learning about the protagonist’s sister through second-hand accounts?

4. The guide identifies the labyrinth as a key motif, describing the investigation as a quest through a maze. How does navigating the clues of the case help Martha navigate her own internal maze of guilt and grief?

5. How did the final revelation that Martha’s father, Gabriel, was Chorus change your perspective on his character? Looking back did you find his motivations for creating the elaborate puzzles to be convincing?

6. The novel champions the idea of recovering women’s lost creative histories, a theme also central to Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. How does Charlie’s discovery of the Joan Hart manuscript serve as a fictional answer to Woolf’s famous lament for the lost potential of a fictional sister of William Shakespeare?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. The Chorus letters are complex puzzles based on literary and cultural knowledge. If you were to design a similar cryptic clue to hide a secret, what text or system would you use as your code? 

2. Imagine you are the editor tasked with publishing Charlie’s edition of Joan Hart’s commonplace book. What would you choose to put on the cover to capture the book’s importance and the tragic story behind its discovery?

3. Guilty by Definition is the first book in The Clarendon Lexicographers series. What kind of case would you like to see Martha, Alex, and Safi tackle in a future installment? Are there any specific linguistic mysteries or historical puzzles you think would be a perfect fit for their skills?