Do Tell

“A wonderful, provocative novel . . . I stepped into the stream of the narrative and didn’t look up until I came to the last page.” –Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake

As character actress Edie O’Dare finishes the final year of her contract with FWM Studios, the clock is ticking for her to find a new gig after an undistinguished stint in the pictures. She’s long supplemented her income moonlighting for Hollywood’s reigning gossip columnist, providing salacious details of parties and premieres. When a young starlet approaches her after an assault by an A-list actor at a party, Edie helps get the story into print and sets off a chain of events that will alter the trajectories of everyone involved.

Edie’s second act career in gossip grants her more control on the page than she ever commanded in front of the camera. But Edie learns that publishing the secrets of those former colleagues she considers friends has repercussions. And when she finds herself in the middle of the trial of the decade, Edie is forced to make an impossible choice. Full of sharp observation and crackling wit, debut novelist Lindsay Lynch draws back the curtain on Hollywood’s golden age of movie magic.

These book club questions are from the publisher, Knopf Doubleday Group (Penguin Random House).

Book club questions for Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

What was your impression of the Golden Age of Hollywood before reading Do Tell? How did the novel change the way you thought about the studio system and the actors, directors, publicists, and writers who made up its ecosystem? What did you get right?

Edie says she built her career by focusing on “the things actors won’t say” (p. 3). What do you think is the most valuable secret she picks up on over the course of the novel? How does covert observation play into your life, relationships, and work?

Edie and Charles discuss their working-class backgrounds in contrast to their current circumstances as Hollywood actors. How do you think Edie’s childhood shapes her adult outlook? How does her experience of scarcity differ from Seb’s?

Sophie’s assault trial is one of the major plot threads in Part 1 of Do Tell. What did you think Edie’s responsibility was to Sophie when asked to help get Sophie’s story into print? If you were Edie, would you have told Augustan about your involvement sooner?

Edie chooses to print the story about Charles rather than her findings about Margy’s marriage during Freddy’s trial. Based on what Edie knew at the time, would you have made the same choice in her shoes? Were there questions you wished she’d asked that she didn’t?

World War II complicates studio operations in Part 2. How does Do Tell’s treatment of the American war effort differ from other stories you’ve read set in this period? What’s your take on the way the studio system played a role in wartime propaganda and how those changes affected the characters in the novel? How do you think you might have participated in the Hollywood war effort?

Throughout the novel, we see that Edie’s words, and the words of her fellow actors, have power. When does gossip work in these characters’ favor? Is it always pernicious? Are gossip columns inherently dangerous? Why did studios like FWM opt into relationships with writers like Edie?

Characters in Do Tell go unpunished. How did that make you feel? Were there elements of the conclusion that surprised you? In a perfect world, how would you see justice served?

Edie calls Hollywood “a city that promised reshoots” (p. 271). Where in your life do you wish you could try again? She also calls Los Angeles “a city that no one was supposed to be from” (p. 205). How does self-invention play into LA’s role in the novel?

Though Do Tell is historical fiction, Sophie’s trial and its outcome feel timely given recent news events and social movements. How do you think Sophie’s allegations might have been received had she gone to trial today? Do you think public opinion and the jury’s outcome could be different? Why or why not?

How do you think the film industry has changed since the 1930s and ’40s? Do you feel movies are made differently now than they were then? Do you think the current trends in cinema are positive? Is there anything from the past that you’d like to see brought back for today’s new releases?

What films, TV shows, or novels did Do Tell most remind you of? Did Edie’s story make you want to revisit any of those stories to compare and contrast? Who would you cast in a film adaptation?

Do Tell Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Do Tell discussion questions