Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What were the most exciting or memorable moments of the book? Describe what stood out for you, and why.

2. Who was your favorite character? What aspects of their personal journey resonated with your own?

3. What, if anything, do you find appealing about the Major as a character? How do his struggles compare to those of other eccentric mature male protagonists in works such as Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2012) or Jonas Jonasson’s The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2009)?

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

1. Have you had experience with a family myth or legend, like the family story of Colonel Pettigrew’s supposed heroism?

2. What drives the interactions between the older and younger generations in this novel? Do you think the depictions were accurate? Why or why not?

3. Have you experienced or observed people falling in love despite significant differences in upbringing, cultural background, beliefs, or faiths? How did these real-world instances compare to the techniques that the Major and Mrs. Ali use to navigate these differences?

4. Have you experienced or observed the kind of discrimination at work in the novel, in which racism is disguised as a matter of taste? How did you respond to this issue?

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

1. Analyze how the book invokes or comments on conservative responses to modern changes. What elements about the theme of Traditional Households and the Resistance to Change did you find true to life?

2. Discuss how the book explores tensions between the predominantly Anglican religion of the white characters and the Islamic religion of characters like Abdul Wahid. You might wish to compare this novel’s depictions to other novels that explore Muslim British characters, like Brick Lane by Monica Ali.

3. Compare the rural English societies that Simonson explores in her historical fiction novels The Summer Before the War (2016), which is set in 1914, and The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club (2024), which is set in 1919. In what ways are the cultural values and traditions the same in these historical novels as in the contemporary setting of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand?

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

1. Why is the protagonist referred to as “the Major” rather than his given name? What does this detail suggest about his character?

2. Discuss how the love affair between the Major and Mrs. Ali is contrasted by relationships between other characters like Abdul Wahid and Amina.

3. How does the wish to cling to tradition or convention cause conflict within the novel? Where are modern developments welcomed or seen as improvements? Where is it more important to defend tradition?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Write a scene or chapter that explores or resolves the relationship between the Major and Bertie. Add your own interpretation of what this relationship was like.

2. Write a dating-app profile for Roger, and try to put an appealing spin on all his flaws.

3. Write (or act out) the scene in which Frank Fergson proposes to Gertrude. What are her reasons for accepting the proposal?

4. Write a scene in which Marjorie and Jemima reflect on the Major’s wedding to Jasmina. You may, if you wish, reference what they will do with the insurance money from Bertie’s gun.