Background and Discussion Questions for The House on the Strand

THE HOUSE ON THE STRAND

 

Daphne du Maurier (b 1907 d 1989) was an English author, many of whose books have been adapted into films, and also her short stories including the classic horror movie "The Birds", directed by Alfred Hitchcock.  Born in London, she moved to Cornwall as a young woman in the late 1920s, and used the towns and landmarks around her home to set her novels. Her first novel was published when she was 24. She later moved to a house called Kilmarth in the town of Tywardreath, a house over-looking St. Austell Bay and used those and other place names in her novel "The House on the Strand". Cornwall's remoteness, its beautiful landscape, and long history all contributed to her work.

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

 

1. Did you enjoy the story?

 

2.  Why do you think Dick is so dissatisfied with his life?

 

3.  What do you think of Dick and Vita's marriage? Which of the 2 characters do you like more - if either?

 

4. Could the author have fleshed out the character of Magnus more?

 

5. The book is written at the end of the 1960s. It has casual derogatory remarks about homosexuality, equating it with pedophilia. Do these remarks affect the story today?

 

6. Dick is entranced by life in the 14th century in the surrounding countryside. Do you feel attracted to a previous time or place?

 

7. The author gives no reason why both Magnus and Dick are obliged to follow Roger as he moves about Cornwall. Do you think it's possible Roger has an ancestral connection to both men?

 

8. Did you find the family relationships in the medieval story confusing?

 

9. Dick says several times he will not take another "trip" but seems to be helpless to stop. This is addiction. Why do you think he finds the other life so fascinating, much more so than his own life?

 

10. Were you satisfied with the ending?

 

11. The author wrote the book in the late 1960s when psychedelic drugs such as LSD were at the height of their popularity, and the drug that Magnus invented seems quite similar to what I've read about LSD. However, in the 1970s psychedelic substances were classified as "drugs of abuse with no medical value".  Nowadays, emerging research for therapeutic purposes show there may be benefits for those suffering from mental health conditions. Do you think money should be spent on continuing research?