1. "Ratiocination - a deliberate calculated reasoning through the imagination and spirit - not interchangeable with mere calculus or logic." Do you find Quentin's expanded definition of "rationcination" at the beginning of Book III an aid in understanding the rather amazing deductions in this novel and also in Poe's Murders in Rue Morgue?

2. What were some of the changes that took place in Baltimore during the season Quentin was away? How did these changes contribute to the restlessness Quentin now finds? Were the unhappy slaves at Glen Eliza indicative of the problem?

3. Is there really such a term as a bonjourier? Did Bonjour actually commit murder? Where would Bonjour or any runaway slave go? Why does she tell Quentin she prefers resolving Poe's death to murdering him? Is this a warning?

4. What motivates Baron Dupin to go to such extremes to create interest in Poe's work and his death? Can there be enough monetary reward to pay for all of his expenses? Was there really a character like Claude Dupin who was responsible for popularizing Poe's work in America, since interest wasn't high at his death?

5. "You have a quixotic sense of the honorable, Brother Quentin." Does this term, "quixotic fit Quentin's quest to clear Poe's name? What motivation consumes his life?

6. When did you first suspect the identity of the Poe enthusiast in the reading room? Did you know before he took off his disguise? How did Duponte know who he was?

7. The "Poe enthusiast" expresses the opinion there is no better prose in the world than Poe's "The Gold Bug" . Quentin replies: "Only the "The Descent into the Maelstrom"" These are both links to the electronic texts. Would you agree with Quentin (Matthew Pearl)?

8. Were you at all surprised at Duponte's promise not to question any of the witnesses from Poe's last days in Baltimore? What sort of information did he elicit from the doorkeeper of the rooms adjacent to the firehouse regarding Dupin's questioning? How does this information tie in with what is known of Poe's last days?

1. Why do you think these particular lines of Poe were selected for the title of Book IV? Do you expect elusive Phantom will ever be seized? How many phantoms can you spot in these chapters?

2. How is it possible for the Baron to effectively alter his appearance to resemble Duponte? Have you read the third of Poe's Murders of the Rue Morgue series? There is an example of this same sort of metamorphosis in the Purloined Letter.

3. How are the practices of the slave trade interwoven into this story? Are you familiar with the term, manumitting? Do you see a parallel between Poe and Quentin and their views on slavery and treatment of slaves as individuals?

4. What do we learn of the mourners who paid last respects to Poe?

5. How did Duponte arrive at his conclusion that Poe was intolerant to alcohol, but not intemperate? Is this precisely the the sort of thing that proves he is the true C. Auguste Duponte model? Why does Quentin begin to doubt him? Has the Baron done anything convincing to prove he is the real Dupin?

6. Are young Benson's vagueries and warnings cause for suspicion? Does his obsession with Poe sound exactly like Quentin's, maybe too much so?

7. How does the history of Duponte and Dupin in Paris influence their rivalry here in Baltimore? Why should hearing this story cause Quentin to fear Duponte?

8. A real cliffhanger ending to Book IV - Duponte's grand revelation of Poe's demise, superceded by Dupin, Quentin's desparate, though ineffective attempt to stop him! Who has succeeded in bringing the house down?

1. Do you see the title of this last book as more than the water that opened up the prison wall to allow Quentin's escape, but perhaps symbolic of his release from the confines of his own solitude? Has his solitude been the prison that has led to his obsession?
Do you see other "floods" in these last chapters?

2. What are the heartbreaking discoveries that led Quentin to conclude that Poe invented C. Auguste Dupin and Duponte is nothing but a fraud?

3. "Only through observing that which is mistaken can we come to the truth." How does the realization of his personal misperceptions enable Quentin to take charge of his life and ultimately save himself?

4. What was the connection between Louis Napoleon's coup and Baron Dupin's murder? Did all those Bonapartes really live in Baltimore at one time?

5. Is it noteworthy that Edwin Hawkins is the one who comes to Quentin's aid whenever he is in an impossible situation? Why does Edwin Hawkins risk all for Quentin? Why doesn't Hope Slatter press charges and take him back into slavery when he has the chance?

6. What is the only way Quentin thinks he can prove he is not mentally incompetent to look after the Clark family fortune and prove himself worthy of Hattie? At what point does he realize the error in his thinking?

7. "To guess is one of the most elevated powers of the human mind and more interesting than reasoning because it comes from the imagination." But isn't this what the Baron had done with the information he had gathered?

8. Does Quentin conclude on his own that the Baron's version of the circumstances of Poe's death is believable but not true? Does Duponte ever admit that he is not Poe's Dupin? Do you believe that he is?

9. Do you believe that Duponte has responded to the mysteries surrounding Poe's death as he reveals the errors in the Baron's version one by one? Has he solved the mystery simply by proving there was nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Poe's last days?

10. Would you say the Substance or the Shadow prevailed as Quentin faced the choice between the Baron's version that seemed true and would be believed and Duponte's truthful explanation, which would put that man's future and may have further damaged Poe's reputation?

Does Quentin's decision not to reveal information on Poe's death indicate that his obsession with Poe has ended? What would you have done with the new information?