The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The Thirteenth Tale (original 2006; edition 2006)

by Diane Setterfield (Author)

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17,499	919	301	(3.99)	4 / 1090
When her health begins failing, the mysterious author Vida Winter decides to let Margaret Lea, a biographer, write the truth about her life, but Margaret needs to verify the facts since Vida has a history of telling outlandish tales.

▾Book information

Member:	spirit_of_song
Title:	The Thirteenth Tale
Authors:	Diane Setterfield (Author)
Info:	Atria Books (2006), Edition: 1st, 416 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	to-read

Work Information

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield (2006)

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▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

Group › Topic	Messages	Last Message
The 11 in 11 Category Challenge: The Thirteenth Tale: Middles (SPOILERS)	8 unread / 8	KindleKapers, February 2011
The 11 in 11 Category Challenge: The Thirteenth Tale: Endings (SPOILERS)	9 unread / 9	VictoriaPL, February 2011
The 11 in 11 Category Challenge: The Thirteenth Tale: Beginnings (SPOILERS)	10 unread / 10	lkernagh, February 2011
The 11 in 11 Category Challenge: The Thirteenth Tale: General Thread	15 unread / 15	lkernagh, February 2011

» See also 1090 mentions

▾Member reviews

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date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 867 (next | show all)

OK, this book is VERY slow to start. I almost quit on it when it got GOOD...very GOOD! This is one of those stories that takes you all sorts of places you dont expect with a little mystery, a little chaos, but ties it all up nicely at the end with no strings dangling. Well written, but stick with it... (

)

jodiebc | Dec 1, 2024 |

Hillsboro evening book club Oct 20th.

A very beautifully written story with stories within stories. I was sucked in to the story on page 1 and just couldn't let it go. I would re-read this, even though I know the twist in the end. Such a great story! (

)

Trisha_Thomas | Nov 13, 2024 |

The perfect October/ Autumn Read
Not since [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948._SX50_.jpg|46663] by [a:Daphne du Maurier|2001717|Daphne du Maurier|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422444467p2/2001717.jpg] has a book so entranced and haunted me . I rarely read a book twice but when this came up for a sit in book group I was so excited as I longed to pull the curtains and welcome in the Autumn nights with this wonderful multi-layered mystery with its gothic athmosphere that gave me chills down my spine.

Set in the English Country side Angel field House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once the imposing home of the March family facininating, manipulative Isabell, charlie, her brutal and dangerous brother and the wild untamed twins. But Angelfield House conceals a chilling secret whose impact still resonates.

Unnerving and compelling in equal measure, this is one of those books where the pages turn by themselves. A story of twists and turns to keep the reader on the edge of their seats. No guts or gore in this one just a good old fashioned style mystery that is chilling and haunting. Great character that will leave a lasting memory. So if like me you enjoy, Abandoned manor homes where secrets and mysteries lure the reader in then this may well work for you.

Even though this was my second time to read this novel and I even seen the TV adaptation, I still enjoed every moment spent with this book and will gladly replace this one on its well earned spot on my book shelf. (

)

DemFen | Oct 31, 2024 |

December 2018 EVERYONE group....
....
Nope. Too many triggers. Some lines are lovely, some are clever, but according to the bunches of reviews that I read, going on will not serve me well (understatement). I just cannot understand why ppl like reading dark stuff, stories about ugly stuff. Does this edify? Does it entertain? (Rhetorical questions... I really don't actually want to discuss.) I guess I have to accept the fact that I'm sensitive.

Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Oct 18, 2024 |

This was a little darker than I was expecting. A wonderful ghost story. Lots of twists and turns. Very gothic. I read this at my sister's recommendation. It was quite the page turner. Two excellent narrators really brought this audiobook to life.

njcur | Sep 17, 2024 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 867 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

4 reviews

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thingScore 58

A family saga with Gothic overtones, dark secrets, lost twins, a tragic fire, a missing manuscript and over-obvious nods to Jane Eyre, Rebecca and The Woman in White, it reads like something a creative writing class might write as a committee, for the sole purpose of coming up with a novel that would suit a book group (and tellingly, there are "Reading Group Study Notes" at the back suggesting topics for discussion).

added by Nickelini | editThe Independent, Brandon Robshaw (Nov 27, 2007)

The Thirteenth Tale is not without fault. The gentle giant Aurelius is a stock character, and the ending is perhaps a little too concerned with tying up all loose ends. But it is a remarkable first novel, a book about the joy of books, a riveting multi-layered mystery that twists and turns, and weaves a quite magical spell for most of its length.

added by Nickelini | editThe Independent, Carol Birch (Oct 6, 2006)

"The Thirteenth Tale" keeps us reading for its nimble cadences and atmospheric locales, as well as for its puzzles, the pieces of which, for the most part, fall into place just as we discover where the holes are. And yet, for all its successes -- and perhaps because of them -- on the whole the book feels unadventurous, content to rehash literary formulas rather than reimagine them.

added by Shortride | editThe Washington Post, Margaux Wexberg Sanchez (Sep 26, 2006)

A book that you wake in the middle of the night craving to get back to...Timeless, charming, a pure pleasure to read...The Thirteenth Tale is a book to savor a dozen times.

added by rainpebble | edit~The San Diego Union-Tribune

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (13 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Setterfield, Diane	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Agutter, Jenny	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Amato, Bianca	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Granato, Giovanna	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Hammer, Hege	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Henshall, Ruthie	Reader	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Järnebrand, Jan	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Moksunen, Salme	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Redgrave, Lynn	Reader	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Stevenson, Juliet	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Tanner, Jill	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Publisher Series

Heyne Allgemeine Reihe (40549)

Is contained in

Diane Setterfield Collection: 3 Book Set by Diane Setterfield

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Alex Award (2007)

Audie Award (Winner – Literary Fiction & Classics – 2007)

Audie Award (Finalist – Multi-Voiced Performance – 2007)

Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award (Nominee – Teen – 2008)

Dilys Award (Nominee – 2007)

Quill Award (Winner – Debut Author – 2007)

Distinctions

Best-selling books according to Pro-books.ru (2010)

Notable Lists

NPR's Complete Holiday Book Recommendations (2006)

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2006-09-12

People/Characters

Important places

Yorkshire, England, UK

Lea's Antiquarian Booksellers (Store)

Angelfield Estate (House)

London, England, UK

Important events

Related movies

The Thirteenth Tale (2013 | IMDb)

Epigraph

All children mythologize their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won't be the truth; it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story. -Vida Winter, Tales of Change and Desperation

Dedication

In memory

Ivy Dora and Fred Harold Morris

Corina Ethel and Ambrose Charles Setterfield

First words

It was November.

Quotations

Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you? You leave the previous book with ideas and themes-characters even-caught in the fibers of your clothes, and when you open the new book, they are still with you.

My gripe is not with lovers of the truth but with truth herself. What succor, what consolation is there in truth, compared to a story? What good is truth, at midnight, in the dark, when the wind is roaring like a bear in the chimney? What you need are the plump comforts of a story. The soothing, rocking safety of a lie. - Vida Winter

Tell me the truth.

Of course I loved books more than people. Of course I valued Jane Eye over the anonymous stranger with his hand on the lever. Of course all of Shakespeare was worth more than a human life. Of course. Unlike Miss Winter, I had been ashamed to say so.

… ten years of marriage is usually enough to cure marital affection …

(show all 11 items)

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Mosse, Kate

Howard, Elizabeth Jane

Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

The Thirteenth Tale

▾Book descriptions

When her health begins failing, the mysterious author Vida Winter decides to let Margaret Lea, a biographer, write the truth about her life, but Margaret needs to verify the facts since Vida has a history of telling outlandish tales.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary

The bond between twins
Long-held family secrets
A ruined old house
(passion4reading)