The Housemaid's Wedding

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Consider another domestic thriller or mystery book that you’ve read. What similar emotions did you feel while reading that book and “The Housemaid’s Wedding?” Discuss how the characters, plot points, and structures made you feel.

2. Did you enjoy the way that the unknown caller was defeated in the text? Discuss why or why not.

3. This short text lacks the typical time and space of a full novel. Discuss what parts of the text lack the depth that you would have liked to see. What would you like to see McFadden explore if this were made into a novel?

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

1. Discuss a time when you had high expectations for an important event, only to discover that the reality was different than what you anticipated. How did you handle it? How did your experience relate to Millie’s?

2. Would you compare yourself more to Millie in her focus on the details and specifics of her day or more to Enzo, who focuses on the larger picture? Explain by connecting their experiences on their wedding day with specific experiences of your own.

3. What moments in the text made you consider your own strength and resilience? Discuss how you related to Millie as she handled her various conflicts.

4. Discuss a family member, a friend, or even a habit that you needed to separate yourself from, as Millie finally does with her mother. Did you find support in others, as she does in Enzo? Where did you find the strength to do it? How did you feel afterward? Use your own experiences to speculate on how Millie will feel in the days following her wedding.

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

1. Millie and Enzo’s wedding is perhaps nontraditional, as she is pregnant, they are already living together, and they go to a courthouse without having a ceremony. However, this may represent a more common vision of what modern weddings are. How does their wedding reflect current societal views of marriage and relationships?

2. How does Millie’s past working with survivors of abuse impact her character in the story? What does the text say about abuse, trauma, and healing as it relates to the real world?

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

1. Discuss one internal and one external conflict that Millie faces in the text. How does her point of view lend insight into these conflicts? How do their resolutions, or lack thereof, develop her character?

2. Read Freida McFadden’s novel Want to Know a Secret? (2021) and compare it to “The Housemaid’s Wedding.” Discuss how McFadden uses the texts’ structures, points of view, and at least one other literary element to build suspense and create tension in both texts.

3. What role does the Prologue play in the text? Discuss how it sets expectations for the reader for the rest of the story. In what ways does McFadden subvert these expectations? How does this structure impact the mood and/or tone of the text?

4. Read The Housemaid (2022), which introduces the character of Millie. Compare and contrast Millie in The Housemaid with Millie in “The Housemaid’s Wedding.” In what ways has she grown and changed? How has she stayed the same?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Create a collage of images that reflect the important items, symbols, and characters in the story. Write a caption for each that explains how your picture represents that object as well as its importance to the text’s important themes and ideas.

2. Rewrite the Epilogue from the story, imagining a world where Enzo does not discover Millie’s stalker. Does Millie handle the man herself or reach out to Enzo or the police for help? Does the man follow through on his threats or give up? What does a confrontation look like between Millie and the man? Consider these questions and more as you write your alternate ending.

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