1. How is Vesper atypical of young women of the Victorian era?

2. Describe Vesper's relationship with her guardians, especially with Brinnie.

3. Alexander's use of Brinnie as narrator is a way to build suspense. How would the story change if Vesper were the narrator?

4. Captain Blazer O'Hara compares the Chirican Indians to "croppies."

What is a croppy boy? Why would O'Hara, an Irishman, empathize with the Chiricans?

5. Vesper describes some of the horrors of the women's suffrage movement in America to Acharro. What was the suffrage movement? How is it important to the story? To the Chirican women?

6. How are Vesper, Brinnie and Acharro guilty of making prejudgments?

How are these prejudgments resolved?

7. Which characters in the story are static? Which ones are dynamic? How and why do the dynamic characters change?