Songs in Ursa Major

The year is 1969, and the Bayleen Island Folk Fest is abuzz with one name: Jesse Reid. Tall and soft-spoken, with eyes blue as stone-washed denim, Jesse Reid’s intricate guitar riffs and supple baritone are poised to tip from fame to legend with this one headlining performance. That is, until his motorcycle crashes on the way to the show.
Jane Quinn is a Bayleen Island local whose music flows as naturally as her long blond hair. When she and her bandmates are asked to play in Jesse Reid’s place at the festival, it almost doesn’t seem real. But Jane plants her bare feet on the Main Stage and delivers the performance of a lifetime, stopping Jesse’s disappointed fans in their tracks: A star is born.
Jesse stays on the island to recover from his near-fatal accident, and he strikes up a friendship with Jane, coaching her through the production of her first record. As Jane contends with the music industry’s sexism, Jesse becomes her advocate, and what starts as a shared calling soon becomes a passionate love affair. On tour with Jesse, Jane is so captivated by the giant stadiums, the late nights, the wild parties, and the media attention, that she is blind-sided when she stumbles on the dark secret beneath Jesse’s music. With nowhere to turn, Jane must reckon with the shadows of her own past; what follows is the birth of one of most iconic albums of all time.
Shot through with the lyrics, the icons, the lore, the adrenaline of the early 70s music scene, Songs in Ursa Major pulses with romantic longing and asks the question so many female artists must face: What are we willing to sacrifice for our dreams?

Book club questions for Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie

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

Explore the family dynamic in the Quinn household. How does the tragedy of her mother's story affect Jane’s relationships with Elsie, Grace, and Maggie? Why do you think the Quinn women choose not to marry?

What does Willy see in Jane? How does her talent, in his view, compare to Jesse’s? What does his willingness to bet on her suggest about his understanding of the music industry? Is he successful in this gamble? Why or why not?

Discuss Jane’s creative process. How does it change after the tour? What mental blocks must she overcome in order to move to the next stage of her career?

Explore the theme of success in the novel. What risks does one take in the pursuit of fame? To what extent is success a corrupting influence? What are the “shortcuts” to success, and do these shortcuts render success any less legitimate? Why or why not? Consider, as you answer this question, Jane’s assertion that she does not “want to depend on reflected glory” (217).

Compare and contrast Jane’s, Morgan’s, and Loretta’s attitudes toward self-promotion. How do their different approaches affect their respective careers? How do the avenues of self-promotion available to these women reflect the music industry’s gendered expectations?

Explore the boundary between the personal and professional realms of Jane’s life. How do her personal relationships interfere with–or advance—her career? Conversely, how do her professional choices affect her relationships? Consider, as you answer this question, her unwillingness to record her first album as a solo artist, the professional opportunities that emerge as a result of her relationship with Jesse, and her decision to remove Rich’s tracks from Ursa Major.

Discuss Jane’s rejection of Jesse’s proposal. Do you think she’s more afraid of his addiction or of always being in his shadow? To what extent is she able to make peace with this decision? Do you think she made the right choice? Why or why not?

Why is Jane unable to tell Jesse the truth about her mother? What does her omission reveal about her ongoing struggle to make sense of this part of her history? Why might Brodie have chosen to withhold this information from the reader as well?

Examine Jane’s decision to go to Greece. What does she hope to find there, and how do her expectations compare to her actual experience? How does her time away allow her to process her career decisions, her relationship with Jesse, and her grief about her mother?

Explore the conclusion of the novel. What does it suggest about each character’s personal growth? About the nature of fame? Is this the ending you expected? Why or why not?

Songs in Ursa Major Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Songs in Ursa Major discussion questions

“Inspired by Joni Mitchell and James Taylor’s romance and creative collaboration, this alluring debut has an Almost Famous vibe as it explores the gritty—and sometimes chauvinistic—side of the music industry.”
—People, Book of the Week

“I could drink a case of this book, and I’d still be on my feet.”
—Kevin Kwan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians

“Songs in Ursa Major is pure sun-soaked summer fun.”

—Kate Quinn, bestselling author of The Alice Network

“In the vein of Daisy Jones and the Six and The Final Revival of Opal and Nev, Songs In Ursa Major is an intoxicating chronicle of the music industry, inspired largely by the love affair between artists Joni Mitchell and James Taylor.”
—Elle
“Like a perfect summer song, Songs in Ursa Major will work its way into your heart and not let go.”

—Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest and Good Company

This discussion guide and recommended reading was shared and sponsored in partnership with Penguin Random House.