The Thirteenth Tale (408) – Diane Setterfield
Source: Library borrowed book
On the back cover:
All children mythologize their birth… So begins the
prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter’s collection of stories, which are as
famous as the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as the yare for the
delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist.
The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating
various outlandish life histories for herself – all of them inventions that
have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a
secret. Now old and ailing, she at last
wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young
woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most,
remains an ever-present pain. Struck by
a curious parallel between Miss Winter’s story and her own, Margaret takes on
the commission.
As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good,
Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of
gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and
willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost a governess, a
topiary garden and a devastating fire.
Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida’s storytelling but
remains suspicious of the author’s sincerity.
She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts
that have haunted them wile becoming finally, transformed by the truth
themselves.
My thoughts:
This book came highly recommended from a friend who has completely different taste in books than I do (actually she hates the books I love and vice versa), and although the back cover description kind of bored me, I gave it a shot.
I really liked this book.
It kept me engaged the whole way through; there is a mystery to figure
out and the characters are well rounded and the writing is in my opinion quite
good.
Also, the main character Margaret has a love even bigger than
mine with books, how can I not love her.
This book would make for a great book club discussion book too.
My rating: 4 out of 5.
I am with you on this one. A friend recommended it to me, and I read the back of the book, with NO interest, but she kept asking what I thought about it. I finally got into it and LOVED it. I really want to re-read it when I get the chance.
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