The Briar Club is a great choice for book club. This riveting story is set in Washington D.C. during the McCarthy era, following the murders of the Briarwood boarding house. The women of the boarding house, each from different backgrounds and dealing with their own demons and regrets, gather around Grace’s attic room to share in friendship. But who is their real friend and who is the enemy hiding among them? The book explores that central question as well as themes of societal restrictions during the 1950’s McCarthyism era, the struggle for freedom, and overcoming differences.
Be ready to give thought provoking answers to these book club questions for The Briar Club. This guide also features a book synopsis and some selected reviews from previous readers, all of which can context for your book club discussion.

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The Briar Club Synopsis
(We always chose to provide the publisher synopsis because we feel that it’s worthwhile to discuss whether the official book description actually squared with your experience of the book.)
The Briar Club, Kate Quinn
Washington, DC, 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss, whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; policeman’s daughter Nora, who finds herself entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Beatrice, whose career has come to an end along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare.
Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: who is the true enemy in their midst?
Capturing the paranoia of the McCarthy era and evoking the changing roles for women in postwar America, The Briar Club is an intimate and thrilling novel of secrets and loyalty put to the test.
10 Book Club Questions for The Briar Club
These questions have been tailored to this book’s specific reading experience, but if you want more ideas, we also have an article with 101 generic book club questions.
- “None of the Boarders ever lingered to talk. Hellos in the corridor, a good-morning over the breakfast eggs, but otherwise it was all just ships passing in the night. Briarwood House didn’t seem to be the kind of place where people got chatty.”
In the opening chapter, Pete says that Briarwood House isn’t the sort of place where people become friendly. Is this true by the end of the novel? Why or why not? - In the novel, both Reka and Fliss are newcomers to the U.S. What different ways in which they adapt or assimilate to their new land?
- In the story, Arlene is distinct from the other members of the Briar Club. What elements of her temperament or political ideology set her apart from the others?
- “Women have to plan out every moment of their lives, from wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday all the way through rest on Sunday. So why aren’t we allowed to plan this? Something that derails our whole lives, all the other plans.”
When reflecting on the struggle for personal freedom depicted in the novel, how do the characters redefine the rigid societal norms during the 1950’s to assert their independence?
- McCarthyism is an all-pervasive presence throughout the novel. How does Arlene’s relationship with Reka mirror the national obsession with the Red Menace?
- How does Grace March’s dual identity as a caring mentor and a communist spy complicate her relationship with the other tenants?
- Bea’s decision to prioritize her career and autonomy challenges the traditional gender roles of that era. How does her journey reflect the changing opportunities for women in the post-war era?
- In the novel, lost art serves as a symbol for Reka’s past and personal grievances. In what way does the community’s support play in her transformation?
- How do the recipes shared in the Briar Club serve as a metaphor for the support and unity found within a circle of friends, and how might these culinary connections help them overcome personal and societal differences?
- In the story, the theme of abusive authority is prevalent throughout the Briar Club. How does the novel illustrate the parallels between political and personal tyranny?
The Briar Club: Selected Reviews
(Use these selected Goodreads reviews to compare with your own experience of the book. Do you agree or disagree with the reviews?)
“Imagine curling up with a book that feels like a warm hug—this one is it! Quinn has done it again with her latest historical gem. Grace, our wonderful heroine, effortlessly brings the residents of Briarwood House together. You’ll find a charming mix of old and new, young and old, all coming to life in such a delightful way.”
“Such a disappointing read, because the synopsis was really interesting – McCarthy era, women working in government jobs in D.C, a potential spy – but this was 98% fluff and could have been 200 pages shorter. Save your time if you’re wanting any kind of suspenseful/serious story about America’s perspective of the Cold War / McCarthy era. This is merely a light fluff piece.”
“A good book, well written, with a style that intrigues you, because it says something but not everything, leaving the reader to guess something or to integrate it with his feelings and his imagination. I also liked the idea that the Briarwood House has feelings and emotions and that it reacts to those of its tenants; it is a beautiful intuition. The plot is very interesting, because it intertwines the lives of many characters, all well-defined and all closely linked to the Briarwood House…”
“There’s a reason Kate Quinn is the Queen of Historical Fiction. She’s just a brilliant writer and a masterful storyteller. Though this is a bit of a departure from her previous books, her fans are in for another treat with THE BRIAR CLUB. Set in a woman’s boarding house in Washington DC during the Cold War, Quinn brings together a rich ensemble cast combined with lyrical prose, a touch of romance, and equal measures of heart and suspense…”
More Book Club Ideas
If you really loved The Briar club, then we have a whole list of books that are similar.
The following links go to a reading guide for that particular book. There’s a non-spoiler synopsis on the top of the article with a link to Amazon if you want to check pricing or reviews.
And you really enjoy Kate Quinn’s female-centric historical fiction, we’ve also got discussion guide for The Diamond Eye (WWII female sniper and Eleanor Roosevelt) and The Rose Code (WWII code breakers at Bletchley Park) .
We’ve also got a handful of other guides that feature mid-century(ish) America and women’s stories. These include: The First Ladies (women’s rights and education with Mary McLeod Bethune an Eleanor Roosevent), or The Women (army nurses and the war in Vietnam).
You could also look at City of Girls, which also features an unlikely collection of women making their way and owning their lives in post WWII New York City.