READERS GUIDE
Reader’s GuideThe Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec
Discussion Questions:
1. How much did you know about the Vikings when you started this book? Did you learn anything that surprised you?
2. In the historical sources she appears in, Gunnhild is depicted as ruthless, power hungry, and scheming. In what ways do you think the author sought to subvert those depictions, and in what ways does the Gunnhild from the book stay true to them?
3. How do Oddny’s and Gunnhild’s relationships with their mothers influence the decisions they make in their own lives?
4. In what ways does Oddny question and challenge the views she grew up with?
5. Who was your favorite character in the book? Who was your least favorite?
6. Were you surprised that Gunnhild ended up with Eirik and that Oddny ended up with Halldor? How do the relationship dynamics in both
couples compare?
7. How do Oddny and Gunnhild make sure they have agency despite living in a strongly patriarchal society? How do the other women in the book do the same?
8. Did your opinion of Halldor change after you discovered his true relationship to Eirik? Do you think his actions were justified?
9. If you had to cast this book as a movie or a TV series, who would you choose for the main roles?
10. Eirik and the other warriors seem to be bound by a strict honor code. Even though they wield most of the power in their society, do you
think they are constrained by it as well?
11. How does the relationship between Oddny and Gunnhild change over the course of the book (or from childhood to adulthood)? What do you
think Gunnhild’s relationship with Signy will look like moving forward?
