The Thirteenth Tale

A great read today, finishing The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.  It was one of those gems that you get every once in a while!  Before I conclude, yes add this to your list!  A mystery tale with some classic twists as you come to the end.  Setterfield’s book is a great one, connecting two characters with some similarities to work together on the elder character’s final story.  Vida Winter is a famous author who hires Margaret Lea to write her biography before she dies.  Margaret is the daughter of a bookseller and as the story unfolds about Ms. Winter’s life, we learn about Margaret’s life.  Ms. Winter’s history was never chronicled and as such she wishes for it to be completed as her last, the true past, the one she has withheld for years.  Margaret was hired by Vida based on the only other biography she wrote.  Margaret will only take the job if Vida tells the truth, and Margaret can find proof that is the truth.  What Margaret finds is more than that…. She finds family members from Vida’s past that didn’t know they were connected.  The book is so much more than the untold story of Vida, but also the coming to terms, through witnessing Vida’s history, of her own life and the tragic death of her twin sister when she was born.  The story of The Thirteenth Tale comes from the fact that Winter wrote a book called "The Thirteenth Tale," but the volume only contained twelve stories in it, this obviously being the last to be filled in the book.  Margaret learns the tragic story of the Angelfield household, where Vida grew up and even visits the burnt-out home that still stands on the grounds.  To give you more information than this would probably give too much away, though I will say that being a twin is also a part of the Angelfield secret, and much more.  There are few “ageless” tales like this one, ie when did it occur?  It could be today or years ago, it doesn’t really matter.  What matters are the brilliant characters and story line that Setterfield shares.  I just hope it doesn’t become a movie like so many other great books.  This one will be a “great read” as the years progress.  A relatively quick read, well I couldn’t put it down… pick it up and I think you’ll find the same thing.