The King's Messenger

Susanna brought in elements about Second Sight sourced from letters and reports written in the seventeenth century, when it was a subject of great interest. Some of the commonly reported Sights were the winding sheets used in burials at the time—a sign of impending death—or seeing someone dripping wet, predicting death by drowning.

• Do you believe in Second Sight? Have you known someone with those gifts? Have you ever had premonitions yourself?
• If you don’t believe it’s possible, are you able to suspend disbelief for a book like this?
• According to the literature of the time, only men were “gifted” with Second Sight. Phoebe wonders if Andrew’s mother has the Sight. Why do you think women might not have revealed if they had it?
• Why is Second Sight both a gift and a curse for Andrew? Would you want to have that gift?

Andrew struggles to reconcile his honor and his heart while carrying out his mission. He feels Sir David is innocent, yet he can’t escape his duty.

• At what point do you think someone is justified in letting go of loyalty? Was there ever a similar moment for you, when something you were being asked to do felt wrong in your heart? How did you handle it?
• Even if you’ve never been in that position, how would you have counseled Andrew if he had come to you for advice?

Enemies to lovers is a popular and enduring romantic trope. At roughly the same time the events of this book were taking place, Shakespeare was writing The Taming of the Shrew!

• Why do you think enemies to lovers is such a successful trope? Do you have a favorite such tale?
• Why do Andrew and Phoebe annoy each other?
• For Andrew and Phoebe, their animosity is built on a misunderstanding. Have you ever changed your opinion about somebody after a wrong first impression? From better to worse or the other way around?

This is a book that deals with kings and queens, but for most of the book, they are not in the spotlight. Susanna Kearsley says in her notes that “Their lives run through it, but the story belongs properly to ordinary people.”

• Do you prefer historical novels that focus on the traditional shapers of history—the kings, the queens, the generals? Or do you prefer the perspective of the people in their orbit and those whose lives are affected by their actions?
• Which do you think is easier to write? What advantage do you think each perspective gives the writer (and reader)?

Phoebe says of Hector: “It was a revelation how the boy coaxed from each man a different aspect of their character.”

• How did Hector change the dynamic of the group? How would the journey have been different without him? What do you feel he brings to the story?
• Does a story gain anything from having characters of widely different generations? Do you tend to prefer stories that include animals and children? Why or why not?

Susanna has confessed that Hector was an unexpected character who showed up in Leith and she “allowed him to stay in the book to see what he would get up to.”

• There are many different approaches to writing a book. Do you think you would be more of a plotter, who plans everything out first before you write, or a pantser, who flies by the seat of your pants and makes space for the unexpected? Or a bit of both? How does your approach play out in other areas of your life?
• What are the pros and cons of each approach?

In her end notes, Susanna says she relied on the surviving correspondence between King James and Prince Henry and Queen Anna. These days, so much of our correspondence is by email, with few tangible records.

• How will researchers of the future find comparable sources? What it likely to be lost?
• Do you still write letters? Have you saved any letters?
• Reading and writing cursive is becoming a lost art. How might that impact the next generation of researchers?

Almanacs, like the one Laurence Westaway carries, were hugely popular in the early 1600s, when this story takes place. Many people used them to plan and organize their lives. Not only could an almanac forecast the weather, predict the sunrise and the phases of the moon, and make sureyou didn’t miss a feast day, but when you finished it, you were left with a brief, written record of all the important things you’d done that year.

• What things have taken the place of the almanac in our modern age? Is there any one item that can do all the things that an almanac could?
• Has astrology ever come close to predicting something for you, even in a fun way? Do you ever read your horoscope?

Much of this book is a road trip, some of it cross-country, but some of it along well-traveled ways that are still used today, including the historic Great North Road in Britain.

• Did you have a favorite moment or scene on the road trip? Was there a particular place where they stopped that you would like to see for yourself?
• Would you rather have traveled then, or now? What would you be giving up to live then, and what would you be gaining?