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.
'Cleverly plotted, beautifully written ... a riveting multi-layered mystery that twists and turns, and weaves a quite magical spell' INDEPENDENT
'Blissful entertainment' THE TIMES
'Make yourself a mug of cocoa and shut the curtains tight - a generous helping of gothic delight is about to be served' DAILY EXPRESS
***
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.
'Beautifully written and highly intelligent. Blissful escapism for literate (and literary) females who love an old-fashioned story'
THE TIMES
'A real treat...Like all the best first novels, this one seems to bulge with a lifetime's hoarded inspirations. Setterfield litters the book with references to nineteenth-century gothic literature and other meta-textual winks and nudges. The effect is of a lit-crit parlour game, which only adds to the fun'
TIME OUT
'Whimsical, moving and consciously nostalgic, Diane Setterfield knows the limits of enchantment, even as she tries to break them' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
'Setterfield proves a mistress of the craft of storytelling and her musings about the pleasures of reading are beguiling'
GUARDIAN
Author
About Diane Setterfield
Born in Berkshire, Diane Setterfield was educated at Theale Green Comprehensive School and Bristol University. Her degree in French literature led her to teach in universities in England and France, where she lived for several years. Diane's previous publications have been in the field of 19th and 20th century French literature, specialising in the writings of André Gide. After returning to the UK, Diane ran a business teaching French to those intending to live in France. She lives in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, with her husband.
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