Book club questions for The Mapmaker’s Daughter by Katherine Nouri Hughes
- If you had to boil it down to a single thing, what would you say The Mapmaker’s Daughter is about?
- What do you think is Nurbanu’s aim in telling her story?
- What do you consider the most visually vivid passages? Why?
- Why do you think the book’s title is The Mapmaker’s Daughter?
- What impact does the city/Republic of Venice have on Cecilia as a child and on Nurbanu as a woman?
- Who among the young Nurbanu/Cecilia family do you think had the greatest influence on her? Why?
- Why is Suleiman so taken with Cecilia/Nurbanu when he first meets her?
- Why does Suleiman assign Cecilia/Nurbanu to his son Mehmed? Later, why does he assign her to his son Selim?
- Do you feel that you know Nurbanu? If so why? If not why not?
- What do you consider Nurbanu’s three most salient qualities?
- How would you characterize Safiye?
- How would you describe Nurbanu’s relationship with Esther?
- Do you consider Nurbanu to be a good mother? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Nurbanu made the decision about the Boys that she did?
- Do you consider Nurbanu to be a moral person? Why or why not?