The Thirteenth Tale

by Diane Setterfield | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0752875744 Global Overview for this book
Registered by sally906 of Toowoomba, Queensland Australia on 11/17/2006
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3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by sally906 from Toowoomba, Queensland Australia on Friday, November 17, 2006
Settle down to enjoy a rousing good ghost story with Diane Setterfield's debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale. Setterfield has rejuvenated the genre with this closely plotted, clever foray into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths. She never cheats by pulling a rabbit out of a hat; this atmospheric story hangs together perfectly.

There are two heroines here: Vida Winter, a famous author, whose life story is coming to an end, and Margaret Lea, a young, unworldly, bookish girl who is a bookseller in her father's shop. Vida has been confounding her biographers and fans for years by giving everybody a different version of her life, each time swearing it's the truth. Because of a biography that Margaret has written about brothers, Vida chooses Margaret to tell her story, all of it, for the first time. At their initial meeting, the conversation begins:

"You have given nineteen different versions of your life story to journalists in the last two years alone."

She [Vida] shrugged. "It's my profession. I'm a storyteller."

"I am a biographer, I work with facts."

The game is afoot and Margaret must spend some time sorting out whether or not Vida is actually ready to tell the whole truth.

Journal Entry 2 by amberC from Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Friday, January 5, 2007
Picked up at the meet-up.

Journal Entry 3 by amberC from Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Monday, April 14, 2008
I am so glad I started this book on a Sunday morning. It meant I could read all day, and I did. I couldn't put put it down.

Journal Entry 4 by amberC from Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Tuesday, April 15, 2008
It has been taken on a BookObssessed relay.

Journal Entry 5 by BellaMack from St Helens, Tasmania Australia on Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Thanks sally I am really looking forward to reading this book. Sounds great.

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