The Thirteenth Tale
A Novel
Checking Availibility...Description
A #1 New York Times bestseller, The Thirteenth Tale is part contemporary, part historical with mysterious threads about family secrets and the magic of books and storytelling weaving the two together.
All children mythologize their birth . . .
So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist.
The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish histories for herself. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary past. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman who is struck by a very curious parallel between Winter's life and her own.
As Vida exposes the history she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness, of a remote estate, feral children, a governess, a ghost, and a devastating fire.
In this love letter to reading, Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday world.
About this Author
DIANE SETTERFIELD is the author of The Thirteenth Tale, which was published in thirty-eight countries worldwide and has sold more than three million copies, and Bellman & Black. Before leaving academia to pursue writing, she taught English at the Institut universitaire de technologie and the Ecole nationale supérieure de Chimie, both in Mulhouse, France, and later lectured in French at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. Her latest book is Once Upon a River. She lives in Oxford, UK.
Reviews
"Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the magical power of story."
--People
"Eerie and fascinating."
--USA TODAY
"A spellbinding story that grabs the reader from the opening pages."
--Toronto Sun
"Setterfield proves a mistress of the craft of storytelling, and her musings about the pleasures of reading are most beguiling."
--The Guardian
"A compelling and emotional mystery about family secrets and the magic of books and storytelling, and it captures you right from the very first page."
--Financial Times
"Confident, creepy and absorbing."
--Sunday Times (UK)
"Whimsical, moving and consciously nostalgic, Diane Setterfield knows the limits of enchantment, even as she tries to break them."
--Times Literary Supplement
"Graceful storytelling."
--Publishers Weekly
"A gothic novel . . . [that] grabs the reader with its damp, icy fingers and doesn't let go until the last shocking secret has been revealed. . . . Setterfield's first novel is equally suited to a rainy afternoon on the couch or a summer day on the beach."
--Library Journal
"[This] is a book for people who both love books and know the importance of stories. . . . Diane Setterfield works that magic in her book. . . . Setterfield spins her tale with the skill and confidence of a born storyteller. . . . If the reader craves stories, Setterfield's tale will satisfy their hunger. A solid debut from a writer readers will want to hear more from."
--Edmonton Journal
"Setterfield has crafted an homage to the romantic heroines of du Maurier, Collins and the Brontes . . . enchanting Goth for the 21st century."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Readers will be mesmerized by this story-within-a-story tinged with the eeriness of Rebecca and the willfulness of Jane Eyre. The author . . . leaves no strand untucked at the surprising and satisfying conclusion."
--Booklist
"A book that you wake in the middle of the night craving to get back to. . . . Timeless, charming, a pure pleasure to read . . . . The Thirteeth Tale is a book to savor a dozen times."
--The San Diego Union-Tribune
"The shared literary landscape that The Thirteenth Tale re-creates with lush precision takes us back to a time when reading could seem more compelling than life."
--The Columbus Dispatch
"Diane Setterfield has created a remarkably compelling debut. . . . Although The Thirteenth Tale has a trance-like feel, the plot is razor-sharp and becomes more complex towards the end; the twists and turns in the final few chapters of this novel demand that the reader pay close attention to every word before being left shaken and surprised by the turn of events. . . . This is an extraordinary, unusual and atmospheric story with a sense of timelessness about it."
--Scotland on Sunday
"The Thirteenth Tale is a cleverly plotted, beautifully written homage to the classic romantic mystery novel. . . . Gothic elements are skilfully re-imagined in a peculiar tale of madness, murder, incest and dark secrets. . . . It is a remarkable first book, a book about the joy of books, a riveting multi-layered mystery that twists and turns, and weaves a quite magical spell for most of its length."
--The Independent (UK)
"A novel brimming with atmosphere and labyrinthine plotting that recalls the gothic-like chillers by Daphne du Maurier and Joyce Carol Oates, spiced with flavors reminiscent of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. The language is rich, the elements intriguing."
--The Sacramento Bee
"A remarkable first novel. . . . A reader's dream. . . . Only five short chapters into Setterfield's deft, enthralling narrative, her readers too have been transported. . . . Richly atmospheric and deeply satisfying. . . . Old-fashioned in the best sense, it's an urgently readable novel that's nearly impossible to put down."
--Barnes & Noble Recommends
If the product is in stock at the store nearest you, we suggest you call ahead to have it set aside for you, or you may place an order online and choose in-store pickup.
