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The Thirteenth Tale
 
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The Thirteenth Tale [Abridged] [Audiobook] [CD] (Audio CD)

by Diane Setterfield (Author), Juliet Stevenson (Reader)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (129 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Audio CD
  • Publisher: Orion (18 Oct 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0752875728
  • ISBN-13: 978-0752875729
  • Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 12.6 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 201,794 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

FINANCIAL TIMES
'Diane Setterfield has a light lyric touch' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
'a wonderful, elegantly resolved story.... One reason why the novel is particularly enjoyable as an audiobook is the way that Setterfield writes: it is as if she is telling a story aloud....The second reason why this is so enjoyable is that the narrator, Juliet Stevenson, shows great sensitivity to its eloquent rhythm.... Stevenson says. "I love inhabiting the psyches of so many people - it's far beyond the scope offered in theatre or film."' (Christina Hardyment THE TIMES )

'Juliet Stevenson's sensationally good reading of THE THIRTEENTH TALE. This brilliant first novel by Diane Setterfield has a story within a story as Vida Winter, a reclusive bestselling author, recounts her life as one of the wild and beautiful Angelfield girls to Margaret Lea, her chosen biographer. Both storyteller and listener have secrets to hide and Setterfield weaves a tale as complex and gripping as anything Christie or du Maurier might have written. Perfect winter listening.' (Kati Nicholl DAILY EXPRESS )

'the writing is powerfully unafraid of the erotic or the sadistic and the intricate plot is satisfyingly - and unpredictably - unravelled. Juliet Stevenson reads it superbly. At the end she can be heard in conversation with the author, discussing the joys of such work, her sensitivity to rhythm and to character, her sense of loss when it's finished. If Setterfield's book is a rich Dundee cake, Stevenson's reading is the elaborate and beautiful icing on top.' (Sue Gaisford THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )

'Diane Setterfield's compelling mystery of family secrets and the magic of books, is not to be missed - not least because of another winning performance by Juliet Stevenson' (Vidar Hjardeng DISABILITY NOW )

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Customer Reviews

129 Reviews
5 star:
 (83)
4 star:
 (25)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (129 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
77 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Tale, 6 Aug 2006
By Elaine Simpson-long (Colchester, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Thirteenth Tale (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
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping Gothic tale, 10 Dec 2006
By kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Thirteenth Tale (Hardcover)
An amazing book about books. I loved all the characters and the story drew me in from the very first page. It's about Margaret whose father owns a bookshop. She is writing a biography for Vida winter, who is a reclusive author and has one final secret she needs to tell. As Margaret learns more about Vida's life she finds herself confronting the ghosts from her own past.

Dianne Settlefield's writing style was so masterful it was as if she was reading aloud to me . I kept feeling as if I knew where the story was heading but then it would take another turn and I would realise I wasn't quite right. I loved the twist towards the end of the book and the last few pages were unexpectedly moving. This is a captivating gothic tale that I just could not put down and I know I will re-read it time and again.
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant debut, 14 Oct 2006
By Mark Wakely (Lombard, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Thirteenth Tale (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
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