The Thirteenth Tale

A Novel

By: Diane Setterfield

Narrated by: Bianca Amato, Jill Tanner

Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

All children mythologize their birth... So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's beloved collection of stories, long famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale. The enigmatic Winter has always kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she summons a biographer to tell the truth about her extraordinary life: Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth remains an ever-present pain.

Disinterring the life she meant to bury for good, Vida mesmerizes Margaret with the power of her storytelling. Hers is a tale of gothic strangeness, featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, and a devastating fire. Struck by a curious parallel between their stories, Margaret demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them.

The Thirteenth Tale is a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter, and in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.

©2006 Diane Setterfield (P)2007 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Literary Fiction, 2007

"Bianca Amato is stunning as Margaret....[her] respect for the power of story and the written word is heard in every utterance. Jill Tanner accomplishes a tour de force as the enigmatic and mysterious Vida. In conversation her voice has the hesitancy and fragility of an elderly woman, but her voice takes on the strength and power of a master storyteller as she weaves her spellbinding life story." (AudioFile)
"Readers will be mesmerized by this story-within-a-story tinged with the eeriness of Rebecca and the willfulness of Jane Eyre. The author skillfully keeps the plot moving by unfurling a new twist in each chapter and leaves no strand untucked at the surprising and satisfying conclusion. A wholly original work told in the vein of all the best gothic classics. Lovers of books about book lovers will be enthralled." (Booklist)

Twice in a row

This book was so well written that, after finishing the first read I started all over to listen again so that I could hear it from a different perspective! I had thought of doing this with other books, but then gave up early on as it didn't feel like there was any mystery left to discover. Not so with The Thirteenth Tale. It was as difficult to put down the second time as it was the first.

Complex, intriguing and fascinating all the way!

If you could sum up The Thirteenth Tale in three words, what would they be?

Complex, intriguing and fascinating

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ida Winter (sp?) because she's the one with all the stories!

Have you listened to any of Bianca Amato and Jill Tanner ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

N/A-earbuds pretty much attached to my head, stay at home mom=all day listening!

Any additional comments?

I do not write reviews . . . but this book is so good! I wasn't listening closely enough my first try, so I stopped in the middle and started over and it wasn't boring at all to re-listen. If I listened to it again, I would probably understand it even better. This book has meat on it's bones and kept me interested until the very last page.

Draws You In And Doesn't Let Go

This book does just what the my review title says! Any true book lover will be drawn from the opening pages. The two narrators do a fabulous job. This book still swirls through my memory months after listening to it. I recommend it highly!

The Secrets we Keep from Ourselves & Others

If you’ve ever sensed something was hidden from you that was important to you, in fact, Someone, important to you - this book is for you.

Wonderful!

What did you love best about The Thirteenth Tale?

This is truly a book that is hard to stop listening to. Several stories are woven into one, sometimes literary, sometimes fantastical, sometimes lonely and heart wrenching, but always spell binding. The narrators do a fantastic job of moving the piece along. Would recommend this book to anyone, especially fans of Jane Erye.

What about Bianca Amato and Jill Tanner ’s performance did you like?

Bianca Amato always does an amazing job. She has a way of creating different characters and painting a new scene just by altering her inflection and pace. Really draws you in. Jill Tanner was also great!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The importance of January 7th - it's wonderful!

Oddly engrossing

I bought this book on a whim and honestly by mistake. I actually thought I was buying the 13th warrior. I rarely read mystery’s unless they are spy related. I love historical fiction. I love fantasy. This book was none of those and yet it was engrossing entertaining and highly enjoyable. Highly recommended.

Too good to be only heard once

Based on other reviews I thought this might be an interesting book to listen to. It wasn't! It was an absolutely FASCINATING book to listen to. I was so wrapped up in the excellent narration of a finely crafted story....in fact, sometimes I rewound it just so I could hear the wonderful way the author strung ordinary words together. But aside from that, it was an indredibly complex story that moved from one suspenseful moment to another. I thought I had figured out the 'secret' but was dumbfounded by the reveal....and yet, all the clues were there. I plan to read the book itself now (or listen to it again) to see where all the clues are and how they link up. This is definitely on my short list of favorite books....right up there with Wilkie Collins and Daphne DeMaurier.

A few good plot twists

A quiet, thoughtful story that manages to have a few twists in the plot. If you like fast-paced stories this probably isn't for you, but I like both fast and slow-paced movies and books, and found this story captivating.

good story, great writing., but the narrator was distracting

the story was well-written, convoluted and engaging. but i nearly returned it early on because the voice (accent, inflections) of margaret lea was almost unbearably annoying, (pretentious and overdramatic). it reminded me of the dramatic movies of the ‘40’s. will give her credit for her stellar acting tho.

compelling

I held off on purchasing this title despite the positive reviews of both the print version and the audio version. I was afraid that it would be too touchy-feely, too depressing, too pretentious, lacking in action - any number of things. But, I gave in and am so glad I did. It was an amazing story, with great narration. It is a mystery, a gothic, a literary suspense, a bit of a lot of genres, all very well done.