Book Review: The Thirteenth Tale

 The Thirteenth Tale

By: Dianne Setterfield 

Pages: 432

Read: 12/13/14

"Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long.

Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author’s tale of gothic strangeness—featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.

Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves."

{GoodReads} 

This was actually my second attempt to read this book.  I tried reading it a while ago and just couldn't get into it.  I stopped right when Vida started telling her story ... big mistake!!  That is when it starts getting good!  I am so glad I went back and reread this because it is now one of my favorite books!  The book starts out slow and has some slow spots but they are totally worth reading through to get to the good stuff.  This book has everything that I love; history, a mystery, family drama, and dynamic characters.  My only complaint is that Margaret's character definitely was not as dynamic or interesting as the characters in Vida's story.  Do yourself a favor and buy/rent this book right now! Such a great Gothic story!

I gave this book a 5/5 on my GoodReads.