Mademoiselle Revolution

Reader's Guide
Mademoiselle Revolution by Zoe Sivak
Discussion Questions:



1. What are your first impressions of Sylvie? At what points do you agree or disagree with her perspective?

2. How does your knowledge of America’s past slave society compare with the novel’s description of French-controlled Saint-Domingue in the late eighteenth century?

3. After meeting Blanchard, how do you think gender influences how someone experiences race? How does intersectionality mold the individual experience in France and its territory of Saint-Domingue?

4. We only ever get Sylvie’s perspective of enslaved people: What do you think Alice thinks of Sylvie?

5. At first glance, what are the cultural and societal differences between mainland France and its territory of Saint-Domingue?

6. Why is Sylvie so intrigued by Robespierre and Cornélie?

7. How are queerness and sexuality represented in the novel? Did this surprise you? Why or why not?

8. Does this characterization of the French Revolution match your own view? Do you believe the French Revolution was a triumph?

9. Who (or what) are the main antagonists? Does this change as we progress through the novel?

10. Under the influence of Joséphine de Beauharnais, Napoleon reestablished slavery in the French Empire. Does this change your opinion of the success of the Revolution?