The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
by Setterfield, Diane
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/Near Fine
- ISBN 10
- 0743298020
- ISBN 13
- 9780743298025
- Seller
-
Webster, New York, United States
2 Copies Available from This Seller
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
The Thirteenth Tale is a gothic suspense novel published in 2006. It is Diane Setterfield's debut novel.
Reviews
Suspenseful and beautifully written, this is a tale that will hold your attention. Just when you think you know where the story is heading, a twist occurs that throws you off course. One of the most mesmerizing books I have read this summer!
This novel is a literary tribute by the author to gothic and romantic novels enjoyed in her own English girlhood -- especially JAYNE EYRE. Pick any five consecutive sentences of THE THIRTEENTH TALE and you may find at most one flat, ordinary formulation. This is "poetry" or poetic prose as Heidegger saw it: "thickening" (German Dichtung). That is, ordinary words and experiences carry weight beyond what most writers make language bear. No glossary needed for this tale of Yorkshire. Just bring your heart. ***
Can two depressingly dysfunctional generations of the Angelfield family finally spawn normal offspring? Must twin girls neglected by their parents remain weird for life? The novel asks why does it take Margaret Lea, an outsider biographer, whose twin had died at birth, to tell when Britain's greatest novelist, Vida Winter, is lying about her family. "Trust but verify" is Margaret's model and it helps her both unravel the Angelfields and their tragedy and come to terms with herself and her parents. ***
THE THIRTEENTH TALE makes a case that the classic way to tell a tale (especially when the yarn is deliberately gothic and romantic) is always the best way: with a beginning which assumes nothing, a middle which blends the elements into fiendishly complex puzzles, enigmas and terrors, and a brief end and coda in which all is explained. Does that also sound like the best kind of detective story? ***
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Details
- Bookseller
- Yesterday's Muse Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 2325511
- Title
- The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
- Author
- Setterfield, Diane
- Format/Binding
- Hard Cover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine
- Quantity Available
- 2
- Edition
- First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0743298020
- ISBN 13
- 9780743298025
- Publisher
- Atria Books
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2006
- Size
- 96x17x144
- LCCN
- 2006042906
- Keywords
- FICTION CONTEMPORARY GOTHIC
- X weight
- 22 oz
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Yesterday's Muse Books
About Yesterday's Muse Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...