Discussion Questions:
1. The Duchess and PLF have maintained a lively correspondence for over 50 years. Is such a thing possible nowadays? Does email suffice? What of the charming incidentals of letter-writing: PLF's hand-drawn illustrations, the sensory experience of reading pen on paper, the pleasure of filing letters away in a special box?2. Our warrior-poets, where are they?
3. The classical education which both correspondents received (although the Duchess's was of a more feminine type) creates a cultural and literary bond between them and the many other characters who come into their lives. What do we have to replace this, if anything?
4. What part does a classical education play in character development? How did they survive the ordeals which life had in store for them (WW2, financial struggles, family issues, hard work, loss) without resorting to psychiatrists and pharmaceuticals?
5. Self-esteem; is it overrated? Both correspondents have a lively sense of humour and playfulness and, yet, they are both able to express deep emotion without sentimentality. How does a classical education help achieve such balance?
6. Is any one else charmed by the idea of the Duchess spending her days in chicken coops & vegetable gardens, in stout tweeds, and her evenings glamorously dressed to entertain the nobility of England?
