Women of the Dunes Read online

  Old Morag had told Pádraig what Ulla had said, that Erik was impotent and that he had beaten her, but added that she had not quite believed her. Some said Ulla was already carrying him when she arrived, and that he must be Harald’s son.

  But old Morag, smiling at him, had said that for herself, she thought he had the look of Odrhan.

  Acknowledgments

  This book was inspired by years of exploring the Scottish west coast and islands with my family, seeing traces of a past rich culture still so vividly present in the landscape. The connections between Scotland and Atlantic Canada go back many centuries and provided twisted threads for the story.

  I am once again indebted to my agent, Jenny Brown of Jenny Brown Associates, for her wise counsel and much-valued support through all the stages of the book, and to Fiona Brownlee of Brownlee Donald Associates. Emily Kitchin and her lovely team at Hodder and Stoughton got right behind the story from the start and are a delight to work with. The same can be said for Jhanteigh Kupihea and her team at Atria, and it has been a pleasure to share another project with them across the Atlantic.

  Part of the book was written in the Hebrides and I am grateful to Angus for letting us use his lovely old manse year after year until it feels like a second home. The book is dedicated, with love, to Alasdair and Guy.

  Women of the Dunes

  Sarah Maine

  Atria Paperback Reading Group Guide

  This reading group guide for Women of the Dunes includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

  Introduction

  Libby Snow has always felt the pull of Ullaness, a headland on Scotland’s sea-lashed western coast where a legend has taken root. At its center is Ulla, an eighth-century Norsewoman whose uncertain fate was entangled with two warring brothers and a man who sought to save her. Libby first heard the stories from her grandmother, who had learned it from her own forebear, Ellen, a maid at Sturrock House.

  The Sturrocks have owned the land where Ulla dwelled for generations, and now Libby, an archaeologist, has their permission to excavate a mysterious mound, which she hopes will cast light on the legend’s truth. But before she can begin, storms reveal the unexpected: the century-old bones of an unidentified man. The discovery triggers Libby’s memories of family stories about Ellen, of her strange obsession with Ulla, and of her violent past at Sturrock House.

  As Libby digs deeper, she unravels a recurring story of love, tragedy, and threads that bind the past to the present. And as she learns more of Rodri Sturrock, the landowner’s brother, she realizes these forces are still at work, and that she has her own role to play in Ulla’s dark legend.

  Topics and Questions for Discussion

  1. How does the prologue draw you in?

  2. Why is it initially difficult for Libby and Declan to get access to Sturrock House and its property? What is Libby’s relationship with Declan like?

  3. Why does Odrhan hesitate to help the fugitives who arrived at the headland? What do his actions say of his character?

  4. Describe Libby and Rodri’s meeting on the Sturrocks’ estate.

  5. How does Libby react as she examines the bones from the headland more closely?

  6. Why does Libby withhold the information about the gold cross from Rodri? If you were in her place, what would you do?

  7. How would you describe Ellen and why? How is she different from Libby? What’s the difference between her interaction with Alick versus how she behaves around Mungo?

  8. What is unconventional about Ellen’s upbringing and living circumstances?

  9. Oliver says to Ellen, “Perhaps that’s what a legend is, a memory preserved over many generations”. How would you describe a legend and do you think they are reliable?

  10. Discuss Rodri and Libby’s meeting with Declan and Caro. How does Rodri behave? Are his actions in line with what you know about him so far?

  11. How would you describe Oliver’s dinner with the Sturrocks? How do the Sturrock brothers treat Oliver? What speculations arise from their conversation?

  12. Why do Oliver and Alick decide to examine the headland, or Odrhan’s chapel? What is Ellen’s reaction when she discovers what they are doing, and how does Oliver respond?

  13. Dissect Alick and Oliver’s conversation about religion. Do you agree with either man’s points?

  14. How do Laila’s last actions tie back to the beginning of the legend, and how will they be remembered?

  15. How do you interpret the epilogue? Why do you think the author ends the novel this way?

  Enhance Your Book Club

  1. For Libby, Ullaness “was etched so deeply into her psyche it was almost part of her being”. Share a place that you’re connected to, and explain why.

  2. What story from your childhood do you still remember today? Do you think you have remembered accurately?

  3. The act of passing down stories through generations is often described as building a chain: “And [Oliver] had an image of the chain forged by the retelling reaching back into a lost past, preserving precious pieces of knowledge”. How do you feel about this metaphor? What other metaphors would you use?

  4. Libby notes the unconventional domestic arrangements with Alice, Maddy, and the boys, and sees that it works. Discuss what being a family means. Do “families” have to be blood-related to feel close?

  5. Read Sarah Maine’s first novel, The House Between Tides, also set in Scotland.

  More from Sarah Maine

  Beyond the Wild River

  * * *

  The House Between Tides

  * * *

  ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY!

  About the Author

  Sarah Maine is the author of The House Between Tides and Beyond the Wild River. She was born in England but grew up partly in Canada before returning to the United Kingdom, where she now lives.

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  Also by Sarah Maine

  The House Between Tides

  Beyond the Wild River

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Sarah Maine

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  First Atria Paperback edition July 2018

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  Interior design by Paul J. Dippolito

  Cover design by Yang Kim

  Cover photographs by Shutterstock

  Author photograph by Susie McDonald at Brick Lane Studio

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Maine, Sarah, author.

  Title: Women of the dunes : a novel / Sarah Maine.

  Description: First Atria Paperback edition. | New York : Atria Paperback, 2018.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017058982 (print) | LCCN 2018003861 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501189609 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501189593 (paperback)

  Subjects: | BISAC: FICTION / Contemporary Women. | FICTION / Literary. | FICTION / General.

  Classification: LCC PR6113.A347 (ebook) | LCC PR6113.A347 W66 2018 (print) | DDC 823/.92—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017058982

  ISBN 978-1-5011-8959-3

  ISBN 978-1-5011-8960-9 (ebook)