Enjoy Treacherous Shoal with your book club. LIsten to the Spotify playlist, prepare recipes for dishes that appear in the book, use the discussion question below to delve deeper into the story. If you would like the author to join you for a session on Zoom, please send a note.

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Listen to the Spotify playlist

Discuss the novel

What preconceptions does José bring to life in Charles Town? Are his views changed in any way?

Life for slaves in the Demarest and Menard households differ substantially. What can we learn about slavery from this?

José must make moral choices about escaping slavery. Would you make the same decisions?

Jane’s choices are pragmatic; Hetty’s emotional; sense and sensibility. Do you sympathize with one more than another? How would your own choices differ?

How do you imagine Frederick’s life 15 years later, in 1778? What about Samuel’s?

How would you describe the relationship between José and Frederick? What kind of friendship is possible between them?

Is José brave? Why or why not?

For a time, the British sailors and their prisoners serve as one crew. How different are these two groups of men? What are the most important characteristics that distinguish one man from another?

If you could be any character in the novel, who would you be? Would you do anything differently?

Enjoy the Recipes