STUDY GUIDES · NO ACCOUNT NEEDED
Questions worth
bringing to class.
Plot overviews, character relationships, themes, and discussion questions for three classic novels, with chapter references, close-reading examples, and essay exercises.
Written for Parlor Study by Nevel Trade Inc. · Each guide uses a public-domain text from Project Gutenberg
Frankenstein
Three narrators, one catastrophe. Questions that ask who is telling the story, and why you should believe them.
Open the guide JANE AUSTEN · 1813Pride and Prejudice
First impressions, and what it takes to revise them. Questions on judgment, marriage, and money.
Open the guide F. SCOTT FITZGERALD · 1925The Great Gatsby
Everything comes through Nick. Questions on what he sees, what he leaves out, and the dream at the center.
Open the guideHow long each book takes to read.
- Frankenstein: about 4 h 50 min, with the time for each part
- Pride and Prejudice: about 7 h 50 min, with the time for each chapter
- The Great Gatsby: about 3 h 5 min, with the time for each chapter
- A Christmas Carol: about 1 h 50 min, with the time for each stave
How to use these guides.
Start with the questions for the chapters you have read; use the whole-novel prompts after you finish. The overviews, character notes, and themes include spoilers. Answer in your own words first, then find the sentence that supports your answer, and ask what it leaves uncertain. The worked example in each guide shows one way to do that with a single passage.
The questions are open on purpose. A good answer is a claim you can defend with the text, and more than one answer can be reasonable.
Discuss the book while you read it.
Parlor Study has these books and thousands more from Project Gutenberg. The web preview is available by invitation, for ages 13 and up.