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This book is the story of a famous author who has never given a true biographical account, though she gives many different untrue versions every year. Now that she is near the end of her losing battle with cancer she must tell "the truth", and chooses to tell a woman she's never met but whom she believes may have a deep understanding of her special life circumstance. It's about twins and mothers. It's about a fire and books. There are topiary gardens and odd behaviour. It contains grand homes and tiny stone cottages. It's about ghosts, unless you don't believe in ghosts. I thought the twists were a little overly foreshadowed. I'm a pretty lazy reader when it comes to mysteries, so the fact the ending didn't come as a surprise is a good indication that the author's hints, winks, and whispers behind the hand were a bit overdone. Still it had some lovely qualities. I cared about some of the characters, though the ones I cared most about weren't the central characters (the famous author and her unlikely biographer.) Maybe that would have changed if the ending were done a bit differently.Read full review
If you are a lover of gothic tales, Jane Eyre style, this should be an entertaining read. Diane Setterfield sets a haunted tone in her impressive debut novel. There are many twists and turns throughout and, though the ending wasn’t a complete surprise, it was very satisfying. The protagonist, a self proclaimed amateur biographer, finds herself in the employ of a famous reclusive author. Soon after agreeing to pen the author’s one ‘true’ biography, listening to her tales of mysterious twins, spectral figures and suspicious fires, her own family ghosts are disturbed as well; many other characters remark to her that she looks like she's "seen a ghost". There is a literary feel to this novel (Jane Eyre is invoked several times) that will appeal to classic book lovers. You can almost feel the wind redden your cheeks on the chilly Moors and smell the oak bookshelves in the amber-lit library. 4.5 stars.Read full review
It is a decent novel, but not as compelling as some had led me to believe. I think that the author, who can construct a convoluted plot. failed to do her homework about the realities of being/living as a twin. And the plot turns on twins.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Vida Winter, England's most famous and reclusive writer, is nearing the end, and before she goes she wants her amazing life story to be recorded for posterity. For this, she engages a lonely young biographer, Margaret Lea, who has a few secrets of her own. When these two forceful women meet, the stage is set for an ever-mounting series of shocking surprises. I've always been a fan of the Gothic style of romantic mystery, and some of my favorite authors are the Brontës, Daphne du Maurier, Mary Stewart, and Robert Goddard. If you share my love of windswept moors, bleak houses and strange families, you're in for a real treat. THE THIRTEENTH TALE is a masterful, deliberately old-fashioned story of secrets, ghosts, sexual obsession, murder, madness--you name it, and it's here. This is a beautiful book. I'm going to give copies to a few friends, and I plan to read it again. The only other books I've actually read twice are GREAT EXPECTATIONS, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, and REBECCA. What else can I say? Enjoy.Read full review
There were some strange circumstances surrounding my reading of this book. It was listed in an email ad I received last week and I thought that it sounded interesting. A few days later, someone mentioned it on an email list that I'm on and I became even more interested in reading it. Then I went home and found it sitting on top of a box of books in my living room. I have no idea how it got there, nor does anyone in my family. So you would think that when I read the book it had some deep hidden meaning that I was just meant to read! Well, no. But it was a really, really good book that I would recommend to anyone who love a brooding, gothic-type mystery. And its setting of the main character in the world of antiquarian books was especially interesting for a book lover like me. Margaret Lea is summoned to the home of a famous author whose life has been shrouded in mystery and who is known for telling far-fetched stories about her past. Vida Winter asks Margaret to write her biography, but Margaret is skeptical of the author's claim that she wants to tell the truth at last. As the story unfolds, however, Margaret is drawn in. As the plot moved between the telling of the story and Margaret's efforts to corroborate it with visits to the author's childhood home, I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat as I feverishly flipped the pages. The Thirteenth Tale deals with secrets and their revelation and whether it is really true that the truth sets people free. A very pleasant and satisfying read.Read full review
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