The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
by Diane Setterfield

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
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Book Summary Information

Author: Diane Setterfield
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-09
ISBN: 0743298039
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Accessories:

Book Reviews of The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel

Book Review: Not so much
Summary: 2 Stars

I found this book boring in the sense that their seemed to be to much of it.The premise is interesting-the twist*no spoilers*got me-but by the time we get to the end of the story I found myself asking do I really care?This book has been compared to Jane Eyre-Don"t believe it!Or the hype that this book has.I guess all in all this book left me a little empty and wishing I had the time back that it took me to read(listen) to it.

Summary of The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel

Sometimes, when you open the door to thepast, what you confront is your destiny.

Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchantingstories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate livesfor herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about herextraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret forso long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her ownpainful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret ismesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness -- featuring the beautifuland willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess,a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.


Settle down to enjoy a rousing good ghost story with Diane Setterfield's debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale. Setterfield has rejuvenated the genre with this closely plotted, clever foray into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths. She never cheats by pulling a rabbit out of a hat; this atmospheric story hangs together perfectly.

There are two heroines here: Vida Winter, a famous author, whose life story is coming to an end, and Margaret Lea, a young, unworldly, bookish girl who is a bookseller in her father's shop. Vida has been confounding her biographers and fans for years by giving everybody a different version of her life, each time swearing it's the truth. Because of a biography that Margaret has written about brothers, Vida chooses Margaret to tell her story, all of it, for the first time. At their initial meeting, the conversation begins:

"You have given nineteen different versions of your life story to journalists in the last two years alone."

She [Vida] shrugged. "It's my profession. I'm a storyteller."

"I am a biographer, I work with facts."

The game is afoot and Margaret must spend some time sorting out whether or not Vida is actually ready to tell the whole truth. There is more here of Margaret discovering than of Vida cooperating wholeheartedly, but that is part of Vida's plan. The transformative power of truth informs the lives of both women by story's end, and The Thirteenth Tale is finally and convincingly told. --Valerie Ryan

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