Reading Group Guide

His Lovely Wife

By Elizabeth Dewberry

About the book:

When tall, blond, and beautiful Ellen Baxter enters the Paris Ritz the day before Princess Diana
dies, she’s mistaken for Diana by the paparazzi. The next morning, as Ellen’s older, Nobel-
laureate husband attends a physics conference, she goes to the site of the fatal crash and finds
an uncharacteristic photograph of Diana. Surprised by how deeply the death has affected her,
Ellen pockets the photo. As she hears Diana’s voice in her head and begins to understand the
parallels between their lives, she tracks down the person who took the photograph, hoping that
this man who deals in surfaces can penetrate her beauty, as he did Diana’s, and help her love
the woman inside.

Elizabeth Dewberry’s complex, surprising novel uses string theory to weave together two
women’s lives and explore a culture that celebrates women for their beauty—then exacts a
terrible toll.

About the author:

ELIZABETH DEWBERRY has written three previous novels, including Sacrament of Lies. Her
plays have been produced in a variety of venues. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with her
husband, Robert Olen Butler.

Discussion Questions:

1. Discuss the word “lovely” in the novel’s title. What traits does society consider to be lovely in
a wife, in terms of physical appearance as well as behavior? What common denominator
existed between Diana’s role in Charles’s life and Ellen’s role as Lawrence’s wife?

2. How would you characterize the dynamic between Ellen and her husband? Where do their
perceptions of each other differ? How does their dynamic compare to the one between Mart and
Eric, and between Charles and Diana?

3. What are your recollections of hearing about Diana’s death? What accounts for the way the
general public often feels a personal connection with celebrities?
4. How do you perceive the internal voice Ellen hears? In what ways does Diana’s dialogue both
liberate and confine Ellen?

5. What is the male equivalent of the trophy wife? What cultural standards exist for men in such
situations? Does society emphasize physical perfection in men as much as in women? How is
that perfection defined?

6. Ellen’s autobiographical novel describes life as the child of a beauty queen. In what way did
her mother equate traditional beauty with the financial security of an “ideal” husband? Is
Lawrence an ideal husband?

7. Why did Ellen’s mother want her daughter to compete in (and win) beauty pageants as a
child? What is the purpose of such pageants, both those that feature child contestants and
those designed for young women? What is the novel’s answer to Ellen’s mother’s statement that
all of life is a beauty pageant?

8. The novel supplies many details about the events surrounding both Ellen’s car wreck and
Diana’s. Were these incidents “accidents”? Do you believe that fate or human choices are
primarily responsible for such tragedies? Why does Ellen focus on the concept of blame when
she and her mother finally discuss Ellen’s father’s death?

9. What does Ellen want from Max at various points in the novel? Does she get what she wants
from him? Does he get what he wants from her?

10. Discuss the setting of the novel. For both Diana and Ellen, it’s a world apart from home.
What does it represent for lovers? How does its reality measure up to its reputation?

11. How would you resolve the metaphysical questions about the nature of matter and particles,
life and afterlife, to which Ellen seeks answers? How and why does the fact that Lawrence is a
renowned physicist affect Ellen’s search for answers to these questions, and how does her
search affect her marriage?

12. How did the structure of the novel, blending present-tense descriptions with past-tense
flashbacks, affect your reading of it? How would you characterize Ellen’s storytelling voice?

13. Besides Katie, who else is subject to a kind of ventriloquism in the novel? What message
was Ellen’s mother left with after she lost her faith in religion?

14. Why does Ellen so dislike the picture Max takes? What image of herself does Ellen hope
Max can provide? Are pictures the best way to represent reality?

If you are interested in having Elizabeth Dewberry join your book group’s discussion of His
Lovely Wife by phone, you can email her at elizabethdewberry@earthlink.net.