Over the years of the Victoria Classics Book Club, our group has grown to encompass thousands of members connected by a love of reading. Below, find discussion questions for past volumes, which can be explored further on our Book Selections page. We also invite you to join the ongoing conversation on our Facebook page, where you will meet a delightful coterie of devoted readers.
At Home in Mitford and Somewhere Safe with Someone Good by Jan Karon
Victoria Classics Book Club delves into favorite titles written by the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author. We invite new and devoted fans of the Mitford series to join us in reading either At Home in Mitford or Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good. Find a limited number of signed copies in our online shop, and join us in discussing themes common to both volumes.
If you are a longtime fan of the Mitford series, what encouragement would you offer to newcomers, as far as the delights that await in either book?
Consider ways to entertain your book club as you delve into Jan Karon’s series or other memorable classics. Settle before the hearth with kindred spirits to discuss favorite volumes—enhancing the time together by savoring a delectable menu that pays tribute to memorable dishes mentioned in literature.
Jan Karon’s beloved fourteen-book series, The Mitford Years, is centered in the fictional town of Mitford, North Carolina, a community brimming with colorful characters, including a most unlikely protagonist, Father Tim, bachelor rector of The Lord’s Chapel. Published in 1994, the first book, At Home in Mitford, finds the priest at an important juncture in his life; he finds himself at another crossroads in the tenth novel, Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, released twenty years later. Whether you are reading the first volume or the latter one, the theme resonates with many of us. Have you ever had a similar decision to make? To whom did you turn for counsel?
There is a passage in Jan Karon’s first Mitford book where Father Tim imagines a scene where he sits by the fire “in the company of a companionable wife.” He would be reading, and she would be knitting because “knitting, he thought, was a comfort to the soul.” Along with nestling into a cozy spot to peruse At Home in Mitford or Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, what are some pastimes that you find are perfect pursuits for whiling away a winter evening?
Re-live this brilliant dialog between two inspiring women as Phyllis Hoffman DePiano sits down with Jan Karon.
Perhaps one of the most notable “characters” in in Jan Karon’s Mitford series is Esther Bolick’s famed Orange Marmalade Cake—a confection so divine, it is the star of every gathering or event in Mitford and has made its maker a celebrity. This signature dessert inspired our test-kitchen chefs to create Mini Orange Marmalade Cakes, a recipe worth sharing with fans of At Home in Mitford and Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good. Is there a certain dish you are known for—or one that must be included at every celebration?
Jan Karon has the ability to make ordinary people seem extraordinary. From Uncle Billy, with his endless supply of jokes, to Puny Bradshaw, Father Tim’s big-hearted housekeeper, At Home in Mitford introduces us to a range of characters we love—or at least find intriguing—and the cast continues to grow with each successive volume, including Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good. Which Mitford resident is your favorite—and why?
In At Home in Mitford, lifelong-bachelor Father Tim’s experience with children is limited at best. Yet he finds himself caring for young Dooley Barley, forging a paternal relationship with the virtually orphaned boy that continues to deepen in Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good. Have you ever mentored a young person? Do you feel you made a difference in their life? In turn, how was your life affected by the bond?
Jan Karon includes a variety of animals characters in The Mitford Years series, from the exuberant, tail-wagging Barnabas, whom church secretary Emma Garrett claimed “wasn’t a dog … but a Buick,” making his first appearance in At Home in Mitford, to Choo-Choo, the fourteen-hundred-pound bull that resides at Meadowgate Farm in Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good. Do you have a pet or animal friend that you think would make a great character in a book?
One of our favorite storylines in The Mitford Years series is the late-in-life-romance between Father Tim and Cynthia Coppersmith, a sweet yet unexpected relationship that first begins to blossom in At Home in Mitford. In Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, Father Tim and Cynthia decide to set up new-to-town Shirlene with Omer Cunningham, based primarily on the fact that they both love Scrabble. Have you ever played matchmaker or been set up for romance by a friend? How did things work out?
In At Home in Mitford, the town’s motto is “Mitford takes care of its own,” a theme that is repeated in Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good. Does your community have a similar philosophy? What are some of the ways you see that demonstrated? What do you love most about your hometown?
In both At Home in Mitford and Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, Father Tim has a habit of responding to requests for help with “Consider it done.” He often finds himself in over his head, whether it’s visiting eccentric parishioners or filling in at the Happy Endings bookstore. It easy to get overwhelmed when you have a helper’s heart. How have you found a balance between giving enough and giving too much?
Jan Karon relates this heartwarming incident in Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good: After Father Tim arranges for a tutor to teach the illiterate Coot Hendrick to read, the old man embraces his new skill with enthusiasm. Jan writes, “That was his favorite thing about books—they took you off to other people’s lives an’ places, but you could still set in your own chair by th’ oil heater, warm as a mouse in a churn.” Tell us about some of the favorite people and places you have been introduced to through books.
In Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, Father Tim has been “retired” for five years—though he has been anything but retiring. He’s filled in as pastor for a small coastal parish, revisited his childhood environs in Mississippi, and explored his ancestral roots in Ireland. As meaningful as these travels have been, he and Cynthia are thrilled to return home to the community first introduced in At Home in Mitford. Have you ever traveled to explore your own family heritage?
Jan Karon has said that of all her books, Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good is her favorite because “it expresses in just five words what we all long for.” That heartwarming thread weaves throughout the Mitford Years series, touching many of the characters and resounding with readers. Does this statement ring true with you, or do you have other words to live by?
As we close our discussion of At Home in Mitford and Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, what have been your favorite insights in revisiting—or reading for the first time—either of these favorite books by Jan Karon? We would love to hear about the characters, moments, or discoveries that made an impression on you. Comment on any social media platform where you follow Victoria or jump into our reader forum!
Find Victoria Classics Book Club resources—including discussion questions, companion materials, and a reader forum—at Victorimag.com!