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Hachette Reading Group Guides

Welcome to our Reading Group guide for Sunnyside by Glen Gold. We invite you to consider and discuss the following questions when reading this book:

  1. How much did you know about the real life stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford before you read Sunnyside? And has your opinion of them changed since reading the book?
  2. How do you think the experience of early Hollywood stars like Charlie Chaplin differs from the experience of today’s celebrities?
  3. How do you think film changed the experience of storytelling? How did the introduction of film as a medium change audience interaction with celebrities?
  4. How do you think Charlie Chaplin’s relationship with his mother affected his life and creative capacity?
  5. Celebrities were successfully used to raise War Bonds during this era. Do you think this kind of funds drive would work in today’s world?
  6. Glen Gold refers to an explosion and change in world character that started at the beginning of WWI and ended at the time of the depression. What are the main changes that still affect the world today?

Character List

  1. General William Ironside an imposing figure at 6 feet 4” and 17 stone. During WWII he was appointed Commander of the Imperial General Staff but he clashed with others in the High Command and retired in 1941. He was created Baron of Archangel and Ironside in the same year.
  2. Jack Pickford an actor whose big break came when his sister, Mary Pickford, brokered a contract for him with First National Pictures in 1919. His career was later damaged by a string of scandals and rumours of drug addiction and he died aged 39.
  3. Elsie Janis’ beauty and musical talent took Elsie from her home state of Ohio to Hollywood where she headlined shows on Broadway and in London’s West End. She was later given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  4. Elliot Dexter was an American actor who appeared in vaudeville and film and appeared in several early Cecil B. DeMille pictures. In 1915 he married star Marie Doro, but they divorced soon after. Elliot has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  5. Burton Holmes was born into a wealthy family and turned to travel as a career when his father lost their fortune in the panic of 1893. Holmes travelled the globe 6 times. His fame was the result of his pioneering use of film and slide shows in his travel lectures. His contribution to film earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  6. Kaiser Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. Wilhelm was a fervent believer in the expansion of German influence overseas, which is often considered one of the underlying causes of WWI. His reign ended with his abdication in 1918.
  7. Hugo Münsterberg was a psychologist and a pioneer of applied psychology. He taught at Harvard. Hugo was fascinated by the movies and in 1916 wrote The Photoplay: A Psychological Study, one of the 1st books of film theory.
  8. Edna Purviance was spotted by Chaplin, who cast her in A Night Out, and with whom she appeared in over 30 films. Purviance and Chaplin were close throughout their lives, and she remained on Chaplin’s payroll until her death in 1958.
  9. Charlie Chaplin was one of the greatest stars of silent cinema. His famous character, the Tramp, made his debut in 1914. Chaplin made 81 films. He was married 4 times, was renowned for his affairs with his leading ladies, and had 11 children. In 1952, his leftist politics put him under suspicion and he went into exile. Chaplin moved to Switzerland, only returning to the States in 1972 to collect an honorary Oscar. Chaplin died in 1977.
  10. Hannah Chaplin made a living as a music hall performer under the stage name Lily Harley. She had three sons: including the famous Charlie. She struggled with mental illness and spent much of Charlie’s childhood in asylums. In 1921 her sons brought her to California, where she was cared for by professionals until her death in 1928.
  11. Mary Pickford was believed to be the most famous woman in the world during the 1910s and 20s. She married actor Owen Moore, but their relationship ended in 1920 amid rumours of affairs and domestic violence. She later married actor Douglas Fairbanks. The couple were considered Hollywood royalty, and held. Pickford was one of the founders of United Artists.
  12. Douglas Fairbanks was one of the biggest stars of early Hollywood. He helped shape the film business as a founding member of both United Artists and the Motion Picture Academy. He was most famous for his roles in Robin Hood and The Mask of Zorro. He was married 3 times, including to Mary Pickford.
  13. William G. McAdoo was a lawyer and politician. The most important moment of his career came when he was Secretary of the US Treasury in 1914 when he closed the Stock Exchange for 4 months amid fears that foreign investors would convert their American securities into gold. Economists believe McAdoo’s actions saved both the US and her future allies from economic ruin. McAdoo then served as a legal advisor to the founders of United Artists.
  14. Owen Moore became a film star in 1910s and 20s Hollywood and appeared in over 279 movies. In 1911 he married Mary Pickford. After her meteoric rise to fame, their marriage broke down. Moore died in 1939 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  15. Lee Duncan found a German Shepherd and her litter in a bombed kennel while serving as a Corporal in France. When the war was over Duncan took the dog’s home. One of them, whom he named Rin Tin Tin, became a movie star. Duncan raised several litters fathered by Rin Tin Tin. During the Second World War, he and Rin Tin Tin III worked as trainers of military dogs. Duncan died in 1960.
  16. Rin Tin Tin was the first canine star in Hollywood and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He became a household name during the 20s. He died in 1932, in the arms of actress Jean Harlow according to Hollywood legend, and is buried in the Cimetière des Chiens, Paris’s renowned pet cemetry.
  17. Frances Marion is often cited as the most renowned female screenwriter of the twentieth century. During WWI she worked as a war correspondent, before returning to her screenwriting career. She was the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Marion wrote 300 scripts.
  18. Syd Chaplin was a successful comedian on the London stage. When Charlie became established in Hollywood Syd joined him; he appeared in some of Chaplin’s early films but increasingly worked as his manager. His film career ended in 1929 when he was involved in a bizarre sex scandal. Syd was forced to leave Britain and was declared bankrupt.
  19. Nicholas Chaikovsky moved to the US where he set up a socialist commune in Kansas. Chaikovsky returned to Russia in 1905. When America and Britain invaded Russia in 1918 he was head of the provisional regional government, and remained so throughout the Russian civil war.
  20. Mildred Harris married Charlie Chaplin in 1918 aged 16 but they divorced in 1920. Harris was a well-regarded actress and a leading lady throughout the 20s. She had a highly reported affair with the Prince of Wales, and legend has it that she introduced the Prince to Wallis Simpson, the woman who would trigger his abdication. Harris continued acting in films until her death in 1944.

Current Reading Group Titles

  1. The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka
  2. Sunnyside by Glen Gold
  3. The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce by Paul Torday
  4. The Disappeared by Kim Echlin
  5. The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin
  6. Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
  7. The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
  8. Testimony by Anita Shreve
  9. Home by Marilynne Robinson
  10. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
  11. City of Thieves by David Benioff
  12. Remembering The Bones by Frances Itani
  13. The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton
  14. Lies by Enrique de Heriz
  15. Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaardner
  16. Sorrows of an American by Siri Hustvedt
  17. Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
  18. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
  19. The Sisterhood by Emily Barr
  20. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
  21. The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie
  22. The Return by Victoria Hislop
  23. A Small Part of History by Peggy Elliott
  24. A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley
  25. Scapegallows by Carol Birch
  26. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
  27. Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat
  28. Radiance by Shaena Lambert
  29. Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon
  30. The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell
  31. Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott
  32. The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle
  33. Golden Age by Tahmima Anam
  34. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
  35. The Keep by Jennifer Egan
  36. The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther
  37. Pirate’s Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson
  38. The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
  39. April in Paris by Michael Wallner
  40. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
  41. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
  42. Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet
  43. Red River by Lalita Tademy
  44. The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox
  45. Rosetta by Barbara Ewing
  46. The Mathematics of Love by Emma Darwin
  47. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
  48. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell