- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Anchor Books; Reprint edition (Nov 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0385490445
- ISBN-13: 978-0385490443
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 13.4 x 2.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 772,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Alias Grace
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1843, a 16-year-old Canadian housemaid named Grace Marks was tried for the murder of her employer and his mistress. The sensationalistic trial made headlines throughout the world, and the jury delivered a guilty verdict. Yet opinion remained fiercely divided about Marks- -was she a spurned woman who had taken out her rage on two innocent victims, or was she an unwilling victim herself, caught up in a crime she was too young to understand? Such doubts persuaded the judges to commute her sentence to life imprisonment, and Marks spent the next 30 years in an assortment of jails and asylums, where she was often exhibited as a star attraction. In Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood reconstructs Marks's story in fictional form. Her portraits of 19th-century prison and asylum life are chilling in their detail. The author also introduces Dr Simon Jordan, who listens to the prisoner's tale with a mixture of sympathy and disbelief. In his effort to uncover the truth, Jordan uses the tools of the then rudimentary science of psychology. But the last word belongs to the book's narrator--Grace herself.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Review
A sensuous, perplexing book, at once sinister and dignified, grubby and gorgeous, panoramic yet specific...I don't think I have ever been so thrilled...This, surely is as far as a novel can go (Julie Myerson, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
Brilliant...Atwood's prose is searching. So intimate it seems to be written on the skin (Hilary Mantel )
Margaret Atwood is to be congratulated (Anita Brookner, SPECTATOR )
The outstanding novelist of our age (Peter Kemp, SUNDAY TIMES ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Brilliant...Atwood's prose is searching. So intimate it seems to be written on the skin (Hilary Mantel )
Margaret Atwood is to be congratulated (Anita Brookner, SPECTATOR )
The outstanding novelist of our age (Peter Kemp, SUNDAY TIMES ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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First Sentence
Out of the gravel there are peonies growing. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Out of the gravel there are peonies growing. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the third novel by Margaret Atwood I have read, the previous two being the Blind Assassin and The Handmaid's Tale. What is apparent after reading these three books is the wide range she can turn her hand to, and the fact that she is one of the most important living authors. Alias Grace is a brilliant book - with a twin introspective and external focus, making it an exceptionally relevant read.
Alias Grace tells the story of Grace Marks, a teenager found guilty, along with another man, of the murder of her master and his housekeeper in Canada in the 19th Century. It was a notorious case at the time, making the papers as far away as Britain. Grace was given a last minute reprieve from the gallows and instead had to serve a life sentence.
The books focuses upon a psychologist looking into whether her claim of amnesia regarding the events is genuine or not. Atwood has written his letters particularly well and she succeeds in drawing out much humour and emotion - especially is his mother's missives. Indeed the whole book draws together a number of different strands - prose, poetry, contemporary reports and knitting patterns - to great effect.
The main part of the book, however, focuses upon Grace. Grace isn't defined by who she is but by who other people want her to be - reflected in the title. People who believe she is guilty or innocent do not do so on the basis of the evidence, but rather by the weight of their expectations. Atwood makes no judgement as to whether she is guilty or not. I suspect she is guilty, but then am I bringing the weight of my expectations to the book?
In this way the book is curiously relevant - we live in a world where much violent crime is sensationalised, and we make relatively few judgements on the basis of facts but rather by instinct. In this way Atwood allows us to search ourselves as much as we do Grace.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A complete classic, "Alias Grace" works on many levels and weaves together tones and themes to compelling effect.
Against the real life backdrop of the case of Grace Marks, a servant girl accused of murder in 1800s Canada, Atwood has created truly believeable characters and events.
"Alias Grace" tells the story of Grace through the guise of her recounting her life to a "new fangled" psychiatrist who has been sent to study her. Grace's story is intermingled with her private thoughts (perhaps revealing her own agenda), along with the perspective of those in society who are fascinated and sometimes repulsed by her.
Partly a "who-dun-it", the book also works on other levels. Atwood perfectly exposes the hypocrisy and prejudices operating in society at that time, by letting each character reveal their own motivations.
There are subtle sub-plots around the book's minor characters ; Atwood being the writer that she is, the novel has frequent feminist undertones ; the book is in part psychological study, and there are also some real questions raised within the novel that force readers to draw their own conclusions.
Please forget any preconceptions that you may have about Atwood as a writer, or the historical genre. If you have any interest in people and how they interact - or if you simply enjoy a well written novel - I promise that you will enjoy "Alias Grace".
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A very well written novel. It had me fascinated and hooked from start to finish. Very emotive at times, my curiosity to find out whether Grace was innocent or guilty drove me through this book at a fast pace. On the whole it was a skilfully written mysterious book, I especially liked the interwoven stories of the supporting characters. A deserving read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A slow burner
Our W.I. Bookclub chose this book for us all to read before we get back together and discuss it a month later. Read more
Published 1 day ago by W.I. Bookclub
Certainly good but not great
I first read this book shortly after it was published and thought it was brilliant, now reading it for the second time some 15 years later my opinion of the book is different. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Sally Walker
Alias Grace
Read the reviews on here and decided to plump for this classic of Margaret Atwood. Great novel. Feel like you are looking into a little bit of history and really getting a... Read more
Published 8 months ago by C Rob
Lacking
First, off I have to say that I came to this book off the strength of Ms Atwood's `The Blind Assassin', which I found to be an engaging, mysterious and interesting book. Read more
Published 14 months ago by aus_books
Enchanting...
I encounted this novel through my A Level studies - it gripped me from page one! It is the only book from school, that I did not give back as I could not part from it. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Le bella gemmie
Better than I expected - a lot
I usually flick through a book when I'm considering reading it. I do this to check the font size, the length of the paragraphs, and other such things unrelated to the stories... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Lauren H
Uneven narration but flows best through Grace
Atwood's prose flows beautifully when using Grace as the first person's voice but becomes distracted when narrating about Dr Simon Jordan. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Kiwifunlad
Not my taste
I have been trying to listen to the audio book of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. Firstly, there are lots of irrelevant quotes in the book that detract from the story and, in my... Read more
Published 21 months ago by SharonUK
Great book but I didn't like how it ended
I found this book to be a very enjoyable read - I got in to it very quickly, and was pretty gripped. Except... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mrs. S. R. Wray
Well written, historical masterpiece!
An excellent book! I was a little skeptical about whether Grace had committed the murders or not, and whether her stories with Dr. Jordan were truth or mere lies. Read more
Published on 30 April 2010 by Ms. S. J. Green
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