- The cover of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is from a 1924 issue of Life magazine. Why was this image chosen? How does it represent the story?
- Why is Roger the way he is? Did the Major not raise Roger well? Or would Roger have turned out the way he did no matter what?
- How would the book be different if it were told from Roger's perspective? Or Mrs. Ali's perspective?
- Janet Maslin of the Times says Major Pettigrew follows a "three-act structure." Even though the book itself is not divided into parts, where do these parts begin and end?
- Why is the wedding included in an "epilogue" and not as "Chapter 26"? Why does Helen Simonson stop telling the story right before the Major and Mrs. Ali walk down the aisle?
- Will the Major and Mrs. Ali have a happy marriage? Will the town accept them?
- Do you think the racism and classism depicted in the novel are realistic? Have you experienced anything similar in your town?
- If Edgecombe St. Mary were a real place, would you want to visit there? Would you want to live there?