The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Margaret also finds a way to take control of her own life, and to make decisions rather than just letting her life pass. Over the course of their arrangement, Margaret learns as much about herself as she does about the incredibly fantastic past of her new employer, a story that includes all the classic elements: love, betrayal, scandals, and secrets.

A recent article brought her name to the attention of the elderly Miss Vida Winter, an incredibly famous and prolific but secretive author who demands Margaret’s presence at her mansion so she can dictate her life story to Margaret. She spends some of her time conducting biographical research on the ancient names she uncovers in her reading, and has even managed to have some work published. In England, protagonist Margaret Lea is a reclusive woman who lives over her family’s antiquarian bookshop, and is content to spend a quiet existence surrounded by the written word and in her father’s peaceful company.

Although it’s not overly long, it took me several weeks to read for I found it so intense that I would just read a couple of chapters a night, while it affected my thoughts all the next day. It’s complex, engrossing, improbable and yet appealing, especially to my fellow bibliophiles. ( From the publisher.The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield’s debut novel, is without reservation the best book I have read all year. As well as the ghosts that haunt them still. In the end, both women have to confront their pasts and the weight of family secrets. Margaret carefully records Miss Winter’s account and finds herself more and more deeply immersed in the strange and troubling story. Where is the thirteenth tale? Intrigued, Margaret agrees to meet Miss Winter and act as her biographer.Īs Vida Winter unfolds her story, she shares with Margaret the dark family secrets that she has long kept hidden as she remembers her days at Angelfield, the now burnt-out estate that was her childhood home. She is spellbound by the stories and confused when she realizes the book only contains twelve stories. Late one night, while pondering whether to accept the task of recording Miss Winter’s personal story, Margaret begins to read her father’s rare copy of Miss Winter’s Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation.

The request takes Margaret by surprise-she doesn’t know the author, nor has she read any of Miss Winter’s dozens of novels. Vida Winter, gravely ill, wants to recount her life story before it is too late, and she wants Margaret to be the one to capture her history. It is a hand-written request from one of Britain’s most prolific and well-loved novelists. Biographer Margaret Lea returns one night to her apartment above her father's antiquarian bookshop.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield