WellRead's October 2024 selection was Rapture by Emily Maguire. In Rapture, we follow Agnes as she chases after knowledge and grapples with what it means to be human. 

Use these discussion questions to engage with the book further, whether in a book club with friends, or just on your own as you digest the story. 

Reading questions for Rapture by Emily Maguire: 

• Reading any historical fiction can come with challenges in dialogue and understanding the era – we were pleasantly surprised with how transportative Rapture was. What do you think helped you to get a sense of time and place?

• “The monks say gossip is devil talk and then methodically milk every drop of intrigue and scandal from the city men at the table.” As Agnes infiltrates the inner workings of the church, while remaining an outsider in so many ways, she observes the hypocrisy of those in power – particularly in religious power. Was there anything that echoed your perceptions of religion today, many centuries later?

• Agnes’ story is full of moments where we believed she was about to be found out or meet her demise. Which of these moments had your heart in your mouth the most? 

• Driven by her desire to know more about both God and the world, how do you think Agnes’ relationship to both God and the world has shifted by the end of the book?

• Randulf … this isn’t his story, yet he is the lynch pin for every step of Agnes’ journey. Did you trust him? How did your opinion of him change throughout the story? 

• “There at her father’s table he asked her about iconoclasts and she knew what it was for a man to treat her as a person and in doing so made it impossible she could ever tolerate anything else again.” Do you think Agnes succeeded in being treated as a person?

Please note, these questions were written and distributed in October 2024.