"Now, if the letter was to be believed, Vida Winter wanted to tell the truth about herself. This was curious enough in itself, but curiouser still was my next thought: Why should she want to tell it to me?" - Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale
The Thirteenth Tale is set primarily in Yorkshire, England and when the novel begins we meet Margaret Lea. She works at an antiquarian bookstore owned by her father. Margaret has published a few articles in academic journals.
And then one day she receives a letter from the famous and critically acclaimed author Vida Winter. Vida is elderly and not in the best of health and is ready to tell her life story to Margaret.
"In the early years they used to try to catch me out. They would do research, come along with a little piece of truth concealed in their pocket, draw it out at an opportune moment and hope to startle me into revealing more. I had to be careful. Inch them in the direction I wanted them to take ... A delicate operation. Their eyes would start to shine, and their grasp on the little chip of truth would loosen, until it dropped from their hand and fell, disregarded, by the wayside. It never failed"
Vida ends her letter by telling Margaret "It is time. Come on Monday. I will send a car to meet you from the half past four arrival at Harrogate Station".
Many biographers and journalists over the decades have tried to get Vida to open up about her life and she never has. And so why choose Margaret? The two have never met and Margaret has never written a book or a biography. That is the mystery at the center of the Thirteenth Tale.
I won't go further because this is a gripping novel and it's best for readers to follow the story as it unfolds. A gothic ambiance pervades this book which is perfect for this time of year. Diane Setterfield is a very talented writer and I want to read more from her. By the final pages I had tears in my eyes.
I loved this one! You make me want to reread it. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Lark and Diane Setterfield's most recent book Once Upon A River sounds good too. On again a historical mystery with a gothic feel.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't as mad about this as many others, but it is very popular. I prefered her Once Upon a River if I'm honest. But she's one heck of a writer!
ReplyDeleteI must read Once Upon A River at some point. And she does write beautifully. The audio version with Lyyn Redgrave as Vida Winter was excellent.
DeleteI absolutely adore this book. If I remember right I devoured it in a day. When Bellman & Black came out, I did the same thing. Ditto for Once Upon a River. I really enjoy her writing style, and have been sitting here praying for a fourth book. I was actually a little nervous to read your review, just in case you didn't like it. I'm so glad that's not the case.
ReplyDeleteI did like The Thirteenth Tale for sure and Diane Setterfield is an excellent writer.. I love gothic atmospheric literature and that's why I want to read Once Upon A River.
DeleteYes, I read this novel with my book club many years ago -- pre-blog and I recall it was quite a tale. But now I forget many of the details .... but it had quite a surprise or reveal to it, right? It is quite clever. But I never got around to reading her next book. Glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteIt does have a twist ending with regard to the ideny of Vida Winter. And it was surprising. I plan at some point to check out Once Upon A River.
DeleteI read this book back in 2010 and had to reread my post about it because I remember liking it but not why. Definitely need to do a reread.
ReplyDeleteI do love a good gothic novel!
I look forward to reading your post about Thirteenth Tale. I'm late coming to the book but I have been curious for years. I felt it lived up to the hype and the atmosphere and plot is very gothic. I was reminded in some ways of Jane Eyre.
DeleteI read this and I was surprised to like it so much. As I remember, it had a very good ending. I would not mind rereading it but I can't reread everything.
ReplyDeleteIt does have a good ending. Vida telling Margaret her story really helped Margaret deal with her past and you sense at the end of the novel that Margaret is going on to a better life.
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