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A Girl with a Knife
After the heartbreaking loss of her mother and a cruel attack by her drunken father, Ella Parker decides that dishonesty is fine when it serves her needs. At a time when wealthy young ladies do little more than embroidery, Ella escapes her luxurious but lonely life, and meets an eccentric ship surgeon who—once she impresses him with her quick-thinking and empathy—allows her to assist him during a surgery.
Compelled by Ella’s intelligence and interest in medicine, the doctor prepares her for a medical career, but there’s a catch: in early 19th century England, women are not accepted into universities. To fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor, Ella must disguise herself as a young man with aspirations of becoming a doctor. After changing her look and name, Ella finds her footing as she performs dissections, conducts experiments, and cares for patients. She also tutors Oli, a kind but struggling fellow student, but she must take caution. Even in her loneliest moment, she cannot trust anyone or make friends.
As Ella continues to excel in her studies, brilliantly saving the life of a patient, she becomes a top contender for the apprenticeship with a famed professor. Dogged by fear of discovery, she must choose between truth and lies, and distinguish between real and false friends, before her pretense is uncovered.
These book club discussion questions were provided courtesy of the author.
Book club questions for A Girl with a Knife by Alina Rubin
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
When embroidering with her friends and their mothers, Ella suggests they put on the Shakespeare play “Twelfth Night.” Do you think the choice of the play is significant?
Also in the embroidery scene, Henrietta tells Ella that her favorite line in “Hamlet” is “To thine own self be true.” Why do you think this line is significant to the story?
Ella chooses to follow Dr. Pesce’s plan to disguise herself as a man and go to medical school and not Matilda’s suggestion to become a midwife. Do you think she was right to listen to the doctor and not his sister?
Were there moments that made you thankful for modern medicine?
Did you think it was believable that Ella managed to hide her secret for two years?
Were you surprised by the revelation that Oli was Jewish?
If Ella didn’t leave her home, and or stayed there after her father died, would she become spoiled and overdramatic like Amelia?
Did you like the tidbits about real women who contributed to medicine (Agnodice, Anna Manzolini, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu)?
What twists surprised you?
While Ella will be in all Hearts and Sails books, would you be interested in books where she’s not the major character? Or seeing her in a smaller role would disappoint you?
A Girl with a Knife Book Club Questions PDF
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