The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel

Diane Setterfield

Sep 2006 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Bianca Amato and Jill Tanner

About this audiobook

Winner of the 2007 Audie Award for Literary Fiction and Finalist for Multi-Voiced Performance

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller

“Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the magical power of story.”—People

“Eerie and fascinating.”—USA TODAY

Sometimes, when you open the door to the past, what you confront is your destiny.

Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness—featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

Ratings and reviews

As an avid reader, it is difficult for me to pick out many of the books I have read over time. But I always return to this book and get sucked into the story. I bought the audiobook assuming it wouldn't quite meet the experience of reading the story myself, and yet it has surpassed my wildest dreams. Fantastic job!

Second time I have read this book although many years apart. Still as mesmerizing and captivating as the first.

Absolutely loved the book but the audio version really makes it more enjoyable. It is so well acted. I have to return to it again and again and each time I get more out of it

About the author

Diane Setterfield is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Tale, and a former academic, specializing in twentieth-century French literature, particularly the works of Andre Gide. She lives in Oxford, England.