The Book Club for Troublesome Women

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Marie Bostwick is a bestselling author known for her historical and women’s fiction. Have you read any other books by her, like A Single Thread or The Second Sister? If yes, how did this one compare to her other novels? If no, which one would you want to read next, and why?

2. The Book Club for Troublesome Women is set in the United States of 1963, and the historical clime is important to the events that unfold in the book. Have you read other historical fiction novels set in this time period, like Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys, Kristin Hannah’s The Women, or Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees? Do they share any similarities with this novel, or touch upon common themes?

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

1. Bostwick’s novel features a book that changes the lives of the women who read it: Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. Is there a book or text that has deeply impacted your life the way Friedan’s work did the Bettys? Which one, and how?

2. Each of the four women who populate Bostwick’s novel has a distinct personality and faces unique struggles and challenges, despite their shared experience of being limited by their gender roles. Which Betty’s story did you most relate to, and why? Which one felt the most different from you?

3. Margaret feels pride in her work for A Woman’s Place, but her joy is somewhat circumscribed by the limitations placed on her by her editor. Have you ever felt similarly constricted when working on something meaningful? How did you address the conflict, and what was the outcome?

4. The end of the book references a quote by Friedan: “You can have it all, just not all at the same time” (356). Do you agree with this assertion? Do you think it is applicable solely to women, or does Margaret’s belief that it applies to every person at every stage of life, irrespective of gender, resonate with you?

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

1. Throughout the book, Bostwick highlights all the people who were left out of the conversation by Friedan in her book. However, Bostwick herself features four white, cisgendered, heterosexual, upper-middle-class women as the main characters in her novel. Does Bostwick fall into the same trap as Friedan herself? How could she have remedied this in her own narrative?

2. While Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is prominently featured throughout the book, Bostwick references other works of feminist literature that paved the way for Friedan’s ideas, including Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex and Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Compare the ideas presented in Friedan’s work with those in de Beauvoir’s and Wollstonecraft’s. Which do you resonate with most? What gaps or further questions can you identify in each of these seminal texts?

3. The Book Club for Troublesome Women takes place in a very specific time in history. Do its ideas and themes continue to hold relevance in contemporary times? Which ones, and why?

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

1. Compare the characters of Walt and Tony. What similarities do they share, and what role do their differences play in the development of the novel’s themes?

2. How does the setting of the neighborhood of Concordia influence the events of the story? How do you think the plot may have differed if the story had been set in either a more urban or more rural location?

3. Throughout the novel, Bostwick reiterates the importance of women supporting and uplifting other women to ensure that the entire community thrives. How does the novel similarly explore the role of intergenerational change and healing in paving the way for equality?

4. Bostwick regularly weaves actual historical figures and events into the narrative—for example, Katherine Graham and the Washington Post, or President Kennedy’s assassination. How does this strategy influence the tone of the book? What does it contribute to the relatability of the story, and what, if anything, does it take away?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were to start a new book club of your own, which would be the first book you would pick to read, and why? If it were to be an exclusive club, like the Betty Friedan book club, whom from your life would you invite to join?

2. Reimagine any one of the main characters from the book as having a different gender, race, or sexual orientation. How differently would some of the conversations and scenes in the book play out? What different choices or experiences would they witness? Would they relate to Friedan’s book with the same intensity as the other Bettys? What texts might they like to explore in the book club?