Discussion Guide for La Petite Four by Regina Scott

Lady Emily Southwell and her three friends, Priscilla Tate and Daphne and Ariadne Courdebas, are known as La Petite Four because they are always together like cakes on a plate. They are determined that someday the world will speak in reverent tones of the year they made their debuts in London Society, starting with an elaborate ball Priscilla is hosting. Lady Emily is equally determined to take her rightful place among the famous artists of the Royal Society for the Beaux Arts. That is, until Lord Robert Townsend shows up intending to marry her and whisk her off into the countryside. What can the fellow be thinking! It's up to La Petite Four to discover whether Lord Robert has something more up his sleeve other than a nicely muscled arm.

About the Author

Regina Scott has imagined her debut countless times, though she somehow still remains the mother of a handsome gentleman with two teenage sons. The author of over a dozen historical romances for adults, she decided to write La Petite Four because Lady Emily would not stop asking for it and because writing Emily's story sounded like a whole lot more fun. She hopes readers agree.

Discussion Questions

1. Unlike other young ladies in her time period who used watercolors and generally stuck to landscapes or bowls of fruit, Lady Emily paints with oil and chooses battle scenes and the deaths of great leaders. Why do you think she chose such a different route? What would you choose to paint if you were an artist?
2. Most young ladies would have been thrilled to have a fiancé as handsome and charming as Lord Robert, but from the start, Lady Emily suspected he was up to no good. How did you feel about Lord Robert when he was first introduced? Did your feelings change by the end of the book? If so, how and what caused you to see him in a different light?
3. Lady Emily and her friends were bound by Society's rules. What rules do we live by today? What would cause you to forget about the rules? What do you think the consequences would be and how would you deal with them?
4. Lady Emily traveled to London for her debut, going from a small country school to one of the largest cities in the world. If you could start life over, where would you live? What draws you to that place?
5. La Petite Four uncovered a series of clues that helped them solve the mystery surrounding Lord Robert. What were those clues and what did they reveal about the man? Did you figure out the mystery before Lady Emily? How?

Activity

All through the book, Lady Emily and her friends dreamed of the Ball, the night they would celebrate entering Society, in essence, joining the adult world. Design an event to celebrate your coming of age or another major event in your life. Include the list of people you'd invite and why, what activities you'd do, the setting where you'd hold it, and how everyone would know that you had achieved success. Write a newspaper account of the event.