Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Handmaid's Tale  By  cover art

The Handmaid's Tale

By: Margaret Atwood
Narrated by: Claire Danes
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Fiction, 2013

Margaret Atwood's popular dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale explores a broad range of issues relating to power, gender, and religious politics. Multiple Golden Globe award-winner Claire Danes (Romeo and Juliet, The Hours) gives a stirring performance of this classic in speculative fiction, one of the most powerful and widely read novels of our time.

After a staged terrorist attack kills the President and most of Congress, the government is deposed and taken over by the oppressive and all-controlling Republic of Gilead. Offred, now a Handmaid serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name. Despite the danger, Offred learns to navigate the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life in breaking the rules in hopes of ending this oppression.

Cover Art by Fred Marcellino. Used with permission of Pippin Properties, Inc.

Explore more titles performed by some of the most celebrated actors in the business in Audible’s Star-Powered Listens collection.
©1985 Margaret Atwood (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Claire Danes sparkles in this performance…Danes’s Offred is complex, and her flashes of intense strength highlight her vulnerability. This is a consuming listen, thanks to Danes’s emotional subtleties.” (AudioFile)

Featured Article: Outstanding Women Authors Everyone Ought to Listen to Right Now


Over the course of history, women have made monumental contributions to literature. Legendary favorites and contemporary women authors alike have left their mark on both the publishing world and audio canon. Though by no means comprehensive, this list features women authors who definitely deserve a spot in your Audible library. Read on to learn more about each amazing woman—her life, her work, and her legacy.

What listeners say about The Handmaid's Tale

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    27,373
  • 4 Stars
    10,192
  • 3 Stars
    4,054
  • 2 Stars
    1,225
  • 1 Stars
    985
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    29,245
  • 4 Stars
    6,764
  • 3 Stars
    2,130
  • 2 Stars
    569
  • 1 Stars
    468
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23,926
  • 4 Stars
    8,910
  • 3 Stars
    3,825
  • 2 Stars
    1,382
  • 1 Stars
    1,110

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bone Chilling!

What made the experience of listening to The Handmaid's Tale the most enjoyable?

There was a lot more substance to the book than there was to the movie. I am a big fan of the movie, which I've seen at least three times (all on video). Atwood employed subtle literary devices reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor. It is a cautionary tale that stands the test of time. While the movie did not spell it out, the book portrays an America that has fallen into the hands of the Religious Right during a time of climate change and falling birth rates. The dystopia created by these forces is not beyond the possibility of realization. The narrator was the celebrated Clare Danes. Who could ask for more. I highly recommend this book, even if you've already read it, and even if you've seen the movie. In fact, if you've seen the movie, but not read the book, then you simply MUST download this audiobook.

What other book might you compare The Handmaid's Tale to and why?

Any dystopian novel of a bleak future. Take your pick.

Have you listened to any of Claire Danes’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I've not had the pleasure. She did a wonderful job of capturing the main characters personality: intelligent, resilient and determined to survive.

If you could rename The Handmaid's Tale, what would you call it?

Every Woman is a Vessel

Any additional comments?

No.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

all too real.

Love it. very emotional and real. found myself very attached to Offred. great book. read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpectedly Good

I picked this one at random and glad I did. Well read and great storyline.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Chilling

This is a chilling tale beautifully written. Hard to believe it was written 30 years ago because it seems so timely. Danes is pitch perfect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Disturbing but captivating

Timely the way stories like 1984 are timely today. Sometimes the narrator would change voices for a character and then go back to her own voice in the middle of what the character was saying but otherwise excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A fantastic piece of literature. Please read it.

One of the best works I've been fortunate to enjoy of late. I may have to read it now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

haunting

in this climate of social Un rest in the US this story is so needed!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Too soon after the election

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, but if you voted against Trump, wait a while. I've read this book a few times but this time was a very difficult during the election.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!

Excellent reading by Claire Danes, I did not want the story to end! Hoping for another book soon.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • TJ
  • 04-06-17

A Must Read/Listen

I couldn't stop listening. Captivating and scarily poignant in this day and age. Must read/listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!