Description

‘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.

Publisher Review

Vastly entertaining * DAILY MAIL * Start reading this on the bus and, I swear, you won't only miss your stop, you might even lose the whole day * COSMOPOLITAN * Simply brilliant - I haven't enjoyed a first novel so much for absolutely ages -- Kate Mosse The moorland romances of the Brontes and Daphne du Maurier are never far away from our vision of a perfect Christmas read. Draw up a chair, then, for debut novelist Diane Setterfield. It's a windswept feast of abandoned babies, incestuous siblings and feral twins * INDEPENDENT * Setterfield is a master of pacing * THE SCOTSMAN * Setterfield writes evocatively and assuredly * LITERARY REVIEW * This is an excellent emotional mystery which I found harder to put down every night! * WOMAN'S OWN * THE THIRTEENTH TALE is the sort of novel they don't write any more, which makes it all the more welcome. Add to this Setterfield's remarkable imagination coupled with her literate style and you have the makings of a modern classic * YORKSHIRE EVENING POST * Setterfield establishes, from the very first page, one of those narrative voices which you trust implicitly, warming to its calm understated authority * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH * A page-turner of a Gothic mystery * SHE * Compelling page-turner * WOMAN & HOME * A dark mystery in the vein of Daphne du Maurier about family secrets and the potency of storytelling * THE LIST * Brilliantly written - recommended * EASY LIVING * A remarkably compelling debut...This is an extraordinary, unusual and atmospheric story with a sense of timelessness about it. It is rare to be able to smell a book as well as read it, but this one is steeped in the aroma of old houses in remote places with strange faded furnishings and little natural light. It will appeal to anybody with a love of literature and a passion for the feel and smell of old books * SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY * Make yourself a mug of cocoa and shut the curtains tight - a generous helping of gothic delight is about to be served * DAILY EXPRESS * A witty, entertaining and very satisfying read * SPECTATOR * Guiltily enjoyable * MAIL ON SUNDAY * Setterfield proves a mistress of the craft of storytelling and her musings about the pleasures of reading are beguiling * GUARDIAN * This bold, unusual debut is, as a Jane Austen character might have said, a vastly entertaining fiction * DAILY MAIL * Whimsical, moving and consciously nostalgic, Diane Setterfield knows the limits of enchantment, even as she tries to break them * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT * 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 * Beautifully written and highly intelligent. Blissful escapism for literate (and literary) females who love an old-fashioned story * THE TIMES * Cleverly plotted, beautifully written homage to the classic romance mystery novel...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 * INDEPENDENT *