55 pages • 1 hour read
Beth LincolnThe Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
How does Shenanigan’s perspective impact the novel’s characterization and suspense? What advantages does telling this particular story in third-person narration offer?
Aunt Schadenfreude and Fauna are two starkly different characters who both serve as the head of the Swift family. Compare and contrast the two characters’ personality traits and leadership styles. How does Fauna’s appointment as the Swifts’ new matriarch impact the novel’s resolution, themes, and overall meaning?
What is the significance of the lake as a setting?
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels features characters with diverse gender identities and a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. How does Lincoln examine subjects like gender and class in a way that is accessible to young readers?
In what ways is Shenanigan changed by her struggle for self-determination? What obstacles does she face, and how does she prove to herself that she is capable of charting her own course in life? How does this theme impact the story’s overall meaning?
Lincoln credits Gothic literature as an influence on her writing. Narratives within this genre often feature family curses. How does greed function as the Swifts’ family curse?
How do Lincoln’s love of etymology and “the gleeful gothic” and the use of comedy shape the novel (341)?
How does Lincoln employ and subvert the generic conventions of English country house murders? How does the author utilize this subgenre of detective fiction to critique social issues, such as classism?
The family dictionary serves as a motif of tradition. Using specific examples from the novel, examine the book’s importance to the Swifts’ customs and beliefs. How does the resolution represent a shift in the family’s understanding of the dictionary?
What other mystery texts have you read that examine tradition versus change, and how do their messages compare to and contrast with Lincoln’s stance that tradition can present an obstacle to progress?
