The Nightingale

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-13

Chapters 14-18

Chapters 19-23

Chapters 24-28

Chapters 29-34

Chapters 35-39

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Discussion Questions

Essay Topics

Hannah only reveals the identity of The Nightingale’s first-person narrator in the final chapter. Why might she have made this choice? How does this hidden identity compare to others in the novel (i.e., “Juliette Gervaise,” “Daniel Mauriac,” etc.)?

The Nightingale contains many examples of foreshadowing. Choose three instances and discuss how Hannah uses them to establish tone, hint at characters’ fates, tie different scenes together, etc.

Over the course of the novel, the apple tree at Le Jardin sickens and dies. Discuss the symbolic significance of this. How else does Hannah use changes to the landscape to underscore themes of trauma and loss?