AustLit

Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club is a novel that is set in a world which is very different from the one students will have experienced.

Activity One: The Regency Period

Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club is set in a world which most students may not know much about. Although relevant details about the world are gradually revealed throughout the novel, some light research before reading might help students’ comprehension and ability to respond to the novel in an informed manner.

Students might find it especially useful to find out about the following:

• historical context, including the Enlightenment which saw the rise in Europe of concepts such as reason, liberty and the scientific method, and the French Revolution (or the 'Terror')

• the system of government and hierarchy of power (especially the class system) operating in England at the time

• social and family structures, including the role of men and women, servants

• cultural aspects of English society, especially clothing, the arts, religion, ballroom etiquette and dances.

Good starting points for research include:

• Regency History blog (Andrew and Rachel Knowles)

• 'The Regency period begins' by Richard Cavendish (History Today)

• Regency England (TV Tropes)

• '10 fascinating Regency facts' by Alison Goodman (The Guardian)

• Research: The Lady Helen Series (Alison Goodman’s official website)

When doing this research, students may encounter references to Jane Austen and her novel Pride and Prejudice, but be aware that these sites, while helpful, cover a time before the official Regency Period.

Activity Two: Enacting Regency Social Conventions

To reinforce some of the social conventions of the day and implement some of what they have discovered through research, students could:

• participate in a dinner party (or a simple gathering), taking care to avoid topics unsuitable to 'the ladies', maintaining a high level of civility and good manners, and ensuring they avoid calling each other by their first names.

• try some Regency-style dancing, once again maintaining manners and civility appropriate to the time. The Regency Dances website will be a useful resource for this activity.

In a de-brief, students should discuss similarities and differences between contemporary and Regency societies.

Activity Three: Anticipating Themes

Start students thinking about some of the key themes in Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club. This can be done through discussing a series of hypotheticals in small groups. Students are to reach a consensus on one or more of the scenarios in the table below. Ensure students think through the consequences (both positive and negative) of the choices they make.

As students read, analyse and interpret the novel, they can refer back to their discussions during this activity, comparing their consensus decisions to what happens to Helen and other characters in the novel.

Activity Four: Reading the Book

Despite the setting of the novel, the language of novel should not be an issue for competent readers. However, unlike some other contemporary fantasy stories, the reader is not plunged into the middle of the action. Instead, the first four chapters are designed to demonstrate the spiraling sense of restriction that Helen feels. Therefore, some students might find the start somewhat slow and find it easier to 'get into' the novel if the first few chapters are read aloud (by the teacher, in pairs or small groups). In addition, various chapters (e.g., the dance at Almack’s in Chapter 16 or the events surrounding the hanging in Chapter 24) would lend themselves to Readers Theatre or performance.

Activity Five: Character Tree

There are quite a lot of characters in the novel and their various allegiances and affiliations can be tricky to keep track of. So, students would be advised to create a chart of the characters and their relationships. Preferably this will also show the Pennworth household servants and members of the Dark Days Club. This could be done using a digital mind mapping tool (e.g., Inspiration, Simple Mind, or Creately) or in hard copy form (e.g., using butcher’s paper or sticky notes).

Below is a sample mind map created using Simple Mind +.

Once students have read the novel (or as they reach key moments), students should be asked for their reactions to the setting, the characters and the unfolding situations and events. These can be used as a starting point for further exploration and discussion, e.g., how did the author encourage you to react in that way?

While there are many ways to extract reactions from students, here are just two that might be useful.

Activity Six: Response Similes

Ask students to react to Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club by writing a series of similes related to each of the five senses:

Here is a model based on reactions to reading The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (not a fantasy novel). These similes capture the book’s atmosphere of menace and foreboding.

Activity Seven

Students should imagine themselves as a friend of Lady Helen’s or a friend of her uncle’s. In that role, they are to write a letter to a mutual friend (i.e., a third party) who may not have heard yet what happened at Lady Helen’s ball at the end of the novel. Students can recount events from their perspective but more importantly must react to those events. Finally, students should use the style of language adopted by letter writers in the novel, keeping the register appropriate. Alternatively, Lady Helen could write to her brother explaining the events and how she feels about what has happened.

Another alternative is for students to write a letter to Alison Goodman discussing aspects of the novel that gave them the most delight. These could be shared with other students and put on display on the wall. Please do not bombard the author with letters from your class, however. If a real audience is desired, send a few of the best (ensuring that have been well-edited first) or synthesise their thoughts into a single letter from the whole class (this could be composed jointly).