We just barely kept up with the speed of The Housekeepers by Alex Hay. It hardly left time to contemplate all its twists, turns, and provocations. This wild group of danger-loving dames inspires a ton of conversation. Need a little help digging in a little deeper? Once you’ve sped through the novel — and only then, as you’ll find spoilers ahead — peep our questions to inspire a few moments of reflection and contemplation about this fabulously feisty novel.
The Housekeepers
by Alex Hay
- While recruiting her accomplices, Mrs. King is met with this statement by Winnie: “I’ve never met a woman in my life who decided to clear out a whole house, strip it right down to the bones, for no more reason than she feels like it … “remind me never to cross you.” Is this Mrs. King’s true motivation for the robbery? Or is there more to it? And if so, what is her biggest motivator?
- Miss de Vries tells Alice, “I can’t abide false modesty,” when she compliments Alice’s draftsmanship. Is Alice truly modest? Is there something more to her reluctance to accept the flattery? What societal or cultural elements might complicate or factor into Alice’s response?
- The larger-than-life characters in The Housekeepers seem ripe for an all-star movie cast. Who would you cast in the film adaptation? Be sure to consider Mrs. Bone, Hephzibah, Mrs. King. Don’t forget Alice, and of course Miss de Vries, Danny, Lord Ashley, Mr. Lockwood, and, finally, the Janes.
- Mrs. King is quite proactively open and honest with Winnie, believing at one point that the reason she couldn’t sidestep, divert, or deflect her — the way she could Mrs. Bone or Alice or Hephzibah — was because “Winnie simply sat there and waited for the truth. She expected it of Mrs. King. She deserved it.” As the women share pieces of their inner lives, histories, and thoughts with one another, what drives their decisions to do so? What makes one woman worthy of truth and the personal and another not? Are these women some of the best types to share with? Or the worst?
- Miss de Vries takes quite an interest in Alice early on. What drives this interest? What is it about Alice that compels Miss de Vries to attach herself to her? Is there anything unsettling or ominous about that attachment, or is it entirely innocuous?
- There are so many bad actors in The Housekeepers, with selfish agendas and devious motivations driving their various lies and facades and falsehoods. Who is the best bad actor of all in the novel? Who was the most fun to witness? Whose actions did you find the most forgivable, and who’s the most despicable?
- “Equals . . . we’re all equals,” says Winnie mid-heist, after ordering hired muscle to remain at his post. Though she likely intended it as a reference to one of the core rules Mrs. King sets at the start, it holds double meaning relative to society and class. Ultimately, is there any element of truth in the statement, in early-twentieth-century England? Why or why not?
Be sure to dig into a little more as you look back on The Housekeepers by checking out Page & Pairing’s full book club guide to the novel.
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