Vanessa
- Vanessa was born in London. Her parents are Irish, and, particularly her father, long to return there. She has a much younger brother and sister.
- When she is young, Vanessa’s ambition is to be a fashion designer. Her heroine is Mary Quant. Vanessa loves different fabrics and hoards pieces she acquires in a case under her bed. What else does she keep in the case – at the beginning of the novel, and then at the end?
- When Vanessa meets Gerald at art college, she is a student of 18 and he is a tutor. She is swept away by his charismatic personality and artistic talent. She falls instantly in love. Do you think she is still ‘in love’ with Gerald at the end of the novel?
- Vanessa has three children, Cordelia, Esme and Jake. They mean everything to her, and yet some people would say she is a bad mother.
- Vanessa lives in London, Oxfordshire and Lyme Regis in Dorset. Which of these places does she like best?
- Vanessa establishes a successful knitwear design business. How integral is her passion for knitting and crochet to ’Unravelling’?
Gerald
- Gerald is a highly-successful sculptor. He is the sort of person you either love or hate. What aspects of his personality might be responsible for these extreme reactions?
- While Vanessa’s family and early life in London are clear, Gerald’s background is far more shadowy. There is a suggestion of something foreign about him – his accent, his swarthy looks – and his half-sister lives in South America.
- Gerald disappears from Vanessa’s life twice during the novel. What is the difference between the two absences?
- The young Cordelia adores Gerald. What factors contribute to her later hatred of him? How is Gerald affected by her refusal to see him?
Cordelia
- Cordelia is born in 1964, when her mother is only 20. Her father named her Cordelia for a particular reason. One scene in the book recalls this.
- From when she is tiny, Cordelia adores her father. But his disappearances from her life lead to a distrust of men and an emotional insecurity that blight her life.
- When she meets Patrick, she has a chance of happiness at last. But will she be able to resolve her uncertainties sufficiently to allow this to happen?
- Cordelia blames her mother for Gerald’s absence from her life? Do you think she has grounds for this?
- Cordelia has a teenage daughter, Savannah. While Cordelia is introverted and psychologically damaged, Savannah is outgoing and fearless.
- Like her parents, Cordelia is an artist. Has she inherited their talent, and can she ever be as successful as them?
