Introduction

[Justin]

The first chapter of the book takes us to 1936 during the coronation of King George VI after his training with Lionel Logue. Why do you think the author chose to include this section in the beginning, as opposed to the end?

[Dillon]

I believe he chose to do this to give the reader some insight as to why Mr. Louge's work was so important to the ceremony. It is also a good way to tell a story, starting at the end result then going back in time to explain what happened to get there.

[Justin]

Dillon wrote: "I believe he chose to do this to give the reader some insight as to why Mr. Louge's work was so important to the ceremony. It is also a good way to tell a story, starting at the end result then goi..."

Agreed, I feel like this is a technique done in movies more often then in books. Usually in books they'll incorporate the use of flashbacks more frequently. In a way, it seemed like it had set the scene for the book even though it happens after everything else. If you had background knowledge prior to reading the book you would know already about King George VI's speaking issues and as a result would still know what was going on during this section.

[Brigid]

It helps when reading the rest of the book to note relevant small conflicts that are significant and may have been missed without this knowledge.

[Evan]

I agree with what everyone has previously stated. I feel that it also shows the importance of Mr Logue even though it may not have been seen by many. His grandson even stated in the introduction how he always saw the picture of his grandfather but had never truly known what he had done and it's impact on the British monarchy. I think that in addition to what has already been said, it is included in the beginning to pull in the reader instead of starting it with the life of Lionel Logue. This is because many people do not read introductions to books, so they may not know how important Mr Logue was to Britain causing the reader to possibly be uninterested in continuing the read had the first chapter not been about the coronation of King George VI.

[Thomas]

I agree with l of the comments apove. I also think that Logue gave us that first chapter so we have a future point of reference to gauge the Kings improvement. We know now that even with the training from Logue's great-grandfather gave the King was still frightened. The coronation could also be seen as a milestone, because we still see growth within the King when he delivers the announcement of The Parlament's Declaration of War.

[Erich]

Since I haven't posted a comment in this thread I might as well now. Reading the book and having time to think about the structure of it, it hit me that the reason it starts off with the coronation is because the book is not about the importance of the coronation itself, nor does it have a real plot, so there isn't really anything to build up to. Also, the cover of the book does say "How one man saved the British monarchy", so I think it's safe to say it's more about the journey and not the destination in this case.