The Thirteenth Tale
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Review
A fireside mystery with all the grisly trimmings (Catherine Shoard Evening Standard )
This surprise bestseller is an enjoyably windswept story of incest, unnatural love and northern nastiness (Emma Hagestadt INDEPENDENT )
highly accomplished...intriguing twists galore (Katie Owen Daily Telegraph )
a captivating read (FIRST )
A firesdie mystery with all the grisly trimmings (LONDON LITE )
An involving and engrossing tale full of twists and turns...hard to put down! (My Weekly )
riveting from start to finish (THE LADY )
The Thirteenth Tale has all the ingredients of a gripping thriller with twists, turns and false leads to keep you guessing...a beautifully written and absorbing mystery (WOMAN & HOME )
This surprise bestseller is an enjoyably windswept story of incest, unnatural love and northern nastiness (Emma Hagestadt INDEPENDENT )
highly accomplished...intriguing twists galore (Katie Owen Daily Telegraph )
a captivating read (FIRST )
A firesdie mystery with all the grisly trimmings (LONDON LITE )
An involving and engrossing tale full of twists and turns...hard to put down! (My Weekly )
riveting from start to finish (THE LADY )
The Thirteenth Tale has all the ingredients of a gripping thriller with twists, turns and false leads to keep you guessing...a beautifully written and absorbing mystery (WOMAN & HOME )
Emma Hagestadt, INDEPENDENT
"This surprise bestseller is an enjoyably windswept story of incest, unnatural love and northern nastiness"
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
109 of 117 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is, quite simply, a rattling good yarn and that is not meant to sound derogatory in any way. One of those unputdownable books that take the reader over from the first page and leave you feeling bereft at the end. The story has everything, twins, a governess, house on a remote moor, a governess, warring siblings, abandoned baby, a fire - from this, it is clear to see that the author loves Jane Eyre (in fact quotes and references to this book abound) and, in the general decay and characteristics of its inmates, we are forcibly reminded of Wuthering Heights. There is a sneaky reference to Henry James The Turn of the Screw that sets your thoughts off at another tangent, and, in case you think this sounds all too gloomy and gothic, there are descriptions of the grounds and the gardener that make you think of The Secret Garden.
So, a terrific read and I defy anybody buying this book not to be plunged into its world and to love it as much as I have done. It is going to be HUGE
So, a terrific read and I defy anybody buying this book not to be plunged into its world and to love it as much as I have done. It is going to be HUGE
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Setterfield mixes a hefty dose of 'Jane Eyre', sifts in a fair helping of 'Turn of The Screw', adds some Alain Fournier, a bit of atmosphere from 'Bleak House', deft touches from 'Rebecca' and a whisk of Angela Carter, and manages to serve up this tempting collation which is all itself, and I'm sure will have readers of future bookes by other authors saying 'this has touches of Setterfield'
Not being one who likes to read (or write) reviews which 'tell the story' - if you've read the book, you know the story anyway, and if you haven't - well, read the book itself, not the plot summary which might spoil the surprise of the book in store - I can only say that if the brooding, unreal yet real, almost dream landscape of the authors mentioned above delight you and left you longing for a similar fix, try Setterfield.
This is a beautiful, slow, poignant piece of writing and double journey - both the narrator's and her storyteller's.
Though the twists and turns of the plot were ahead of me every step of the way - and yet so RIGHT when they arrived, I actually found myself prepared to wait, and savour the smallness of each moment, rather than going faster and faster because I couldn't wait to find out 'what happened next'
To manage that juggle is splendid indeed.
My only disappointment is (and it's a big one......this is a FIRST novel, so I can't go rushing off to the pleasure of her previous canon of works. Damn, damn, damn.
Not being one who likes to read (or write) reviews which 'tell the story' - if you've read the book, you know the story anyway, and if you haven't - well, read the book itself, not the plot summary which might spoil the surprise of the book in store - I can only say that if the brooding, unreal yet real, almost dream landscape of the authors mentioned above delight you and left you longing for a similar fix, try Setterfield.
This is a beautiful, slow, poignant piece of writing and double journey - both the narrator's and her storyteller's.
Though the twists and turns of the plot were ahead of me every step of the way - and yet so RIGHT when they arrived, I actually found myself prepared to wait, and savour the smallness of each moment, rather than going faster and faster because I couldn't wait to find out 'what happened next'
To manage that juggle is splendid indeed.
My only disappointment is (and it's a big one......this is a FIRST novel, so I can't go rushing off to the pleasure of her previous canon of works. Damn, damn, damn.
36 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When a first novel is immediately (and enthusiastically) compared to the works of such literary luminaries as the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, a large dose of skepticism is in order. I read this book with a jaundiced eye, expecting to eventually uncover at least one unconvincing character, a plot twist that failed to surprise, or a passage less than vivid, unworthy of the masters.
I did not.
Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale carries the reader along like a turbulent river, with unexpected eddies and undertows you can't escape. The characters are absolutely true to the worlds of Dickens and Austen, but they're originals, not derivatives. They grieve and you do, they rejoice and you do, they die and you do- almost. The whole atmosphere of the book is powerful and sweeping, in the manner of Henry James or even Joseph Conrad. (Well, minus all those ships, of course.) If I had to pick one story that gave the same overall effect as Setterfield's book, I'd pick The Turn of the Screw, since the ghost element in Setterfield's book is equally shocking and unique, although James's classic novella lacks the grand span and scope of The Thirteenth Tale. Then again, Setterfield's characters could just as easily find a home in Dickens' dangerous London squalor or in the halls of a Bronte mansion, the air thick with secrets and heavy with troubled specters anxious to make themselves known.
Intriguing, daring and even downright heart pounding at times, The Thirteenth Tale might well give you nightmares at the end, but they'll be the best- and most original- nightmares you've ever had.
-Mark Wakely, author of An Audience for Einstein
I did not.
Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale carries the reader along like a turbulent river, with unexpected eddies and undertows you can't escape. The characters are absolutely true to the worlds of Dickens and Austen, but they're originals, not derivatives. They grieve and you do, they rejoice and you do, they die and you do- almost. The whole atmosphere of the book is powerful and sweeping, in the manner of Henry James or even Joseph Conrad. (Well, minus all those ships, of course.) If I had to pick one story that gave the same overall effect as Setterfield's book, I'd pick The Turn of the Screw, since the ghost element in Setterfield's book is equally shocking and unique, although James's classic novella lacks the grand span and scope of The Thirteenth Tale. Then again, Setterfield's characters could just as easily find a home in Dickens' dangerous London squalor or in the halls of a Bronte mansion, the air thick with secrets and heavy with troubled specters anxious to make themselves known.
Intriguing, daring and even downright heart pounding at times, The Thirteenth Tale might well give you nightmares at the end, but they'll be the best- and most original- nightmares you've ever had.
-Mark Wakely, author of An Audience for Einstein
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
zzzzzzzzz
Just couldn't get into this one. Read the first few chapters then got bored. A lot of people have said how brilliant it is but this book is just not for me.
Published 7 days ago by xliverbirdx
Gripping
I was gripped from the first page of this book, the writer cares about the characters and in turn made me care abuot them too. Read more
Published 24 days ago by R. Brown
dear ms setterfield
I loved this book and was surprised that the author hasn't written anything since...then I read the negative reviews! Read more
Published 1 month ago by twizzle
Keep you at suspense
Started reading for my book club, which means not something I'd picked on my own.
But the outrageous setting and the mystery kept me turning on the pages, and was finished in... Read more
But the outrageous setting and the mystery kept me turning on the pages, and was finished in... Read more
Published 3 months ago by millie
Thirteenth Tale - 1st edition
My sister gave me a paperback copy of this book a few years ago and I found it totally absorbing. It is beautifully written and has a "period" timeless quality about it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Susan A. Harris, Prints
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Great book, kept me thinking! As for the condition of the book- great especially as it was a second hand book and it was a brilliant price. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kirsty Whyte
Good Homage to Gothic Classics
I went into this book not entirely sure what to expect. I knew it was a gothic tale inspired by books such as Jane Eyre, The Woman in White and Wuthering Heights, and I knew that... Read more
Published 4 months ago by S O'Hara
Excellent book.
Beautifully written book, very enjoyable story with twists & turns, could not put it down. Waiting for a second book of hers to come out
Published 4 months ago by MME Gubby Cabaret
One of these best books I've read in a long time.
Quite simply, an excellent novel I couldn't put down. Very bad book to read before going to bed as I ended up many nights looking at the clock in shock wondering where the hours... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Supergirl
The Thirteenth Tale
This is one of many books I had ordered from Amazon in the past. Items usually dispatched earlier than stated, description accurate. I am very pleased with the service.
Published 6 months ago by Baila Morena
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