 | The Other Woman
Jane Green Introduction
What's the only thing worse than a mother-in-law who can't stand you? One who wants to be your best friend. Ellie thinks she's marrying into the ideal family but soon
realizes that her perfect mother-in-law, Linda, can be a perfect monster. What Linda thinks is generous and affectionate, Ellie sees as manipulative and invasive; from
commandeering the wedding to crowding the vacation plans, Ellie can't escape her mother-in-law's meddling. To make matters worse, her husband, Dan, offers little support
in the escalating struggles between mother- and daughter-in-law. Are his twice-daily phone calls to Linda really necessary—or even normal? How will the arrival of baby
Tom affect the family? When will Michael, Linda's submissive husband, finally stand up to his wife? Ellie has always dreamed of having a close-knit family and now she's
discovering what happens when wishes come true.
A tender, engrossing read, Jane Green's The Other Woman is the latest in her string of highly successful novels about love, family, and friendship. Her sparkling prose
and lively humor have captured the hearts of readers on both sides of the Atlantic, and this newest novel highlights her wit as well as her warmth for and understanding
of human relationships. With a nuanced eye for detail and expression, Green reveals not only the frustrations and compromises involved with family life, but also the
ever-evolving nature of female friendship. As Ellie navigates through marriage and motherhood, she finds her friends enhancing but also complicating her life with their
own desires and limitations. Yet when events take a poignant turn, Ellie finds herself reaching out to the one friend she never imagined needing: Linda.
Flawed, ambivalent but ultimately hopeful and resilient, Ellie Cooper is a heroine readers can identify with and cheer for as she moves through the stages of her life,
from single woman to married mom and back—and back again. Life, with all its complications, will never be the idyll that Ellie expects, and as she learns to accept the
flaws in her family and friends, she also recognizes and remedies the flaws in herself. A journey of growth, experience and forgiveness, Jane Green's novel will resonate
with readers seeking an honest portrait of modern domestic life. Rather than relying on storybook cliché, Green's The Other Woman reveals the true give-and-take involved
in building an extended family, proving that happy endings don't happen without hard work.
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 | About the Author
Jane Green lives in Connecticut and London with her husband and four children. She is the author of Straight Talking, Jemima J, Mr. Maybe, Bookends, Babyville, and To
Have and to Hold.
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| Discussion Questions
The "other woman" in Ellie's marriage is her mother-in-law, Linda, but there are many types of "other" women in her life as well. Discuss
conflicts of loyalty in the novel in terms of family, marriage and friendship.
Use one relationship triangle (e.g., Lisa, Trish, and Ellie) to demonstrate how relationships evolve through the course of the book. Can you draw any parallels
between this and your own life? Which character do you most identify with? Why?
Ellie initially idealizes Dan's family as a substitute for her childhood experiences. How do her expectations of marriage and family affect her happiness?
Did you ever have similar feelings?
How does Ellie's identity shift as she moves from single woman to wife to mother? How does her choice of friends reflect these changes? What does she learn?
We see Ellie's relationship with Linda through Ellie's perspective. How do you think Linda would describe the events of the book? Were there moments when you
sympathized with Linda instead of Ellie?
What is your opinion of Dan's behavior toward the conflicts between his mother and his wife? Did your feelings for Dan's father change from the beginning of
the novel to the end?
Compare the portrayal of marriage and family in this novel with another book or film you have enjoyed recently. What similarities or differences do you notice
in the depiction of the relationships? Is Dan and Ellie's experience typical of marriage today?
There is a large cast of supporting characters in The Other Woman. Were there any that you wished played a more prominent role in the novel? If so, briefly
describe how you would have included them in the plot. If not, explain which character you could have eliminated completely.
Take turns describing Ellie physically and psychologically. If the novel were a movie, whom would you cast in the starring roles?
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