The Thirteenth Tale

A Novel

By: Diane Setterfield

Narrated by: Lynn Redgrave, Henshall

Winner of the 2007 Audie Award for Literary Fiction and Finalist for Multi-Voiced Performance

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller

“Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the magical power of story.”—People

“Eerie and fascinating.”—USA TODAY

Sometimes, when you open the door to the past, what you confront is your destiny.

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.©2006 Diane Setterfield. All rights reserved; (P)2006 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved

Gorgeous prose with suspence

Would you consider the audio edition of The Thirteenth Tale to be better than the print version?

Yes. The delivery was lush and riveting.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The narrator was completely believable. I would follow her anywhere.

Which scene was your favorite?

The descriptions were so beautifully written and the metaphors, creative. I could not possibly choose one scene.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It's one to savor.

Any additional comments?

God bless Lynn Redgrave.

Readers were great. Story was good.

I liked the story but the way it was written seemed a little awkward and confusing. The performance lifted it a lot.

I wanted to love this book...

So I bought this book because it was recommended to me under books like Historian. Which this book is sort through of like Historian in the smallest of ways.... it is kind of like The Historian. Old haunted houses, the old scientific debate on the connection of twins, having to prove 3 scientific facts with old new papers and the help of a historian.... But it falls very short of The Historian. now some of the book had genius ideas on life itself. Some of the phrases and ideas thought of by this old woman really where interesting. The characters were ok... the plot was ok... was it cliff hanging or a book I couldn't but down... no. The awesome narrorators from Audioble did very well. the voices matched the story and gave it some heft that would have been missed without it... I wanted sometimes to love this book... but I liked it so I guess that's well enough.

It was very British

It is a keep calm and carry on sort of book. I am sure I'll not listen to or read again. Bur, it did waste the hours away listening while I crafted.

Confused

I was confused through most of this story. In the end it all came together, but feel I need to listen to it again if I really want to understand it all.