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The Thirteenth Tale
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Margaret Lea works in her father's antiquarian bookshop where her fascination for the biographies of the long-dead has led her to write them herself. She gets a letter from one of the most famous authors of the day, the mysterious Vida Winter, whose popularity as a writer has been in no way diminished
… More »Margaret Lea works in her father's antiquarian bookshop where her fascination for the biographies of the long-dead has led her to write them herself. She gets a letter from one of the most famous authors of the day, the mysterious Vida Winter, whose popularity as a writer has been in no way diminished by her reclusiveness. Until now, Vida has toyed with journalists who interview her, creating outlandish life histories for herself - all of them invention. Now she is old and ailing, and at last she wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Her letter to Margaret is a summons.Somewhat anxiously, the equally reclusive Margaret travels to Yorkshire to meet her subject - and Vida starts to tell her tale. It is one of gothic strangeness featuring the March family; her mother, the beautiful and wilful Isabelle, who had a powerful hold on her father and brother, and the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline.Margaret, herself a twin, is doubly intrigued. But as a biographer she deals in fact not fiction, and she doesn't entirely trust Vida's account. She goes to check up on the family, visit their old home and piece together the story in her own way. What she discovers on her journey to the truth is for Margaret a chilling experience that will transform her life.
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My gripe is not with lovers of the truth but with truth itself. What succor, what consolation is there in truth, compared to a story? What good is truth, at midnight, in the dark, when the wind is roaring like a bear in the chimney? When the lightning strikes shadows on the bedroom wall and rain taps at the window with its long fingernails? No. When fear and cold make a statue of you in your bed, don't expect hard-boned and fleshless truth to come running to your aid. What you need are the plump comforts of a story. The soothing, rocking safety of a lie.
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Add a CommentThis book has so many secrets.
I loved this book. It's a real "story" like all those classic stories in the book. I was taught early to suspend disbelief when opening a book and that makes it easy to read over the technical flaws and just get lost in the story. I did make the mistake of beginning it as my bedtime reading and consequently ended up with a sleepless night reading it start to finish. I definitely recommend it.
Read this in epub from BC Libraries to Go (which allows ratings but not comments.) I had a tough time putting it down. Despite the slightly antiquarian story devices (which deliberately harken back to the classic novels that feature so much in this book) there is a skillful reliance on human behaviour and relationships that gives the story a timeless quality. I'll be looking for more from Diane Setterfield after this memorable first read.
Great plot, but the character who tells her life story to another character has an ominscient view, which I found too much of a stretch for Setterfield to ask of the reader.
Very spooky book! Didn't expect the plot to turn out as it did. Couldn't put it down!
A really great read, good characters, and a mystery to solve!
Very quick read, very similiar to The Forgotten Garden. Definately recommend it!
Suffer the first chapter for slowness and just enjoy the rest of it. I loved the book and read it in a day.
A little slow at first, but after the first couple of chapters I couldn't put it down. Read it in a day. Loved it!
a surprise of the hidden character - well plotted