Lovereading Debut of the Year 2007. Margaret Lea is approached by a world famous author, Vida Winter, to undertake her biography. Both their stories unfold with the book, beautifully told with a strong relationship developing between them. It’s a tale of real drama, only the author has spent her life inventing stories and, as a biographer, Margaret has to find the truth. This is a very fine novel indeed.
'Simply brilliant' Kate Mosse, international bestselling author of Labyrinth
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Everybody has a story...
Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten.
It was once home to the March family: fascinating, manipulative Isabelle; brutal, dangerous Charlie; and the wild, untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But the house hides a chilling secret which strikes at the very heart of each of them, tearing their lives apart...
Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield's past, and its mysterious connection to the enigmatic writer Vida Winter. Vida's history is mesmering - a tale of ghosts, governesses, and gothic strangeness. But as Margaret succumbs to the power of her storytelling, two parallel stories begin to unfold...
What has Angelfield been hiding? What is the secret that strikes at the heart of Margaret's own, troubled life? And can both women ever confront the ghosts that haunt them...?
The Thirteenth Tale is a spellbinding mystery, a love letter to storytelling, and a modern classic.