Book Review: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Do you believe in ghosts? If not, you might change your mind after reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. This wonderful debut novel's rich language and clever, enveloping plot will make you think twice about hauntings and keep you guessing until the end.

Narrator Margaret Lea is a quiet, retiring woman who loves to read more than anything else in the world. She grew up around her father's antiquarian book shop and now helps him run the business. She has absolutely no interest in modern fiction, preferring old novels with "proper endings," and occasionally writes biographies of lesser-known, deceased authors.

Margaret is taken quite aback when she is contacted by the most prolific and well-loved author of modern times, Vida Winter. Ms. Winter has never told the same story twice about her origins, but she claims she wishes to tell the truth to Margaret. Intrigued, Margaret leaves London to see Ms. Winter in her home out on the moors of Yorkshire. Ms. Winter is old but proud and sharp, both in her wits and her tongue. Margaret almost leaves before taking the assignment, but Vida Winter catches her by saying she will tell her a ghost story, a story of twins.

Margaret is mesmerized by the idea of twins, for Margaret herself is a twin. She discovered the fact by accident; her parents never told her about her sister, who died at birth. Margaret's mother never really recovered and could never really love Margaret, who feels lonely and bereft, unable to let go of the sister she never knew.

As Vida Winter tells Margaret her story, the reader follows as if in the room with them, or reading over Margaret's shoulder as she transcribes her interviews. The tale takes place at the manor of Angelfield, home of the aristocratic Angelfield family, which was destroyed 60 years ago in a fire. When Margaret is allowed some time away by Ms. Winter, she visits the ruin and meets some people of the nearby village. As Ms. Winter's account of twin girls born under suspicious circumstances unfolds, events occur in real time for Margaret. She tries to verify Ms. Winter's story and wonders if she will run into any ghosts, secretly hoping that one would be her sister.

Article Author: Nancy Fontaine

Nancy Fontaine is a librarian and freelance writer living in New Hampshire with her husband, two cats, and every four years during presidential primary season, the national press.

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