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The Thirteenth Tale  By  cover art

The Thirteenth Tale

By: Diane Setterfield
Narrated by: Bianca Amato, Jill Tanner
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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)

What listeners say about The Thirteenth Tale

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    6,624
  • 4 Stars
    2,982
  • 3 Stars
    1,163
  • 2 Stars
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Performance
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  • 2 Stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    4,778
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    740
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    142

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best, most intriguing books......

The characters are complex, yet not overwhelming. Well written. It has your attention immediately. I have had a difficult time putting it down. I listen/read very few books time and again. I will listen again! It's like that great movie that you want to revisit time and again.

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

a wonderful story!

i love this story the characters, the feelings, the performances. Everything is done with excellence! I have listened to it many times and enjoy it as much as I did the first time!

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

Absolutely Beautiful

"There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic."

I have not enjoyed a book so much in a long time as I did the Thirteenth Tale. Sure, I've really liked some of them... but this one truly captivated me. Beautifully, mesmerizing, skillfully written. Watching it unfold through the words of both women and slowing putting the tragic narratives together was amazing. Its one I can't wait to come back to, to relive it a second time and see how the bits and pieces look completely different knowing the whole story. Definitely a new favorite.

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

Captivating

This story heals my attention the entire time. The various twists and turns of the story made it captivating .

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

Narrative Story Telling

A well-told story of twin sisters engaged in a family coverup that entangles a female journalist, herself the sole survivor of twins, into an ever deepening mystery involving a successful author--the remaining member of a prominent English family whose estate has been allowed slowly to decay. The narration by Bianca Amato and Jill Tanner is excellent as they keep the voices and delivery of the author and the journalist distinct and in character.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely--give it 90 minutes and you will be hooked.

I was not so sure when this book got going that I was going to love it. I thought it was a bit too verbose at the start with no payoff, but as the book settled in and the plot got going, I fell in love with it.
The style takes its cues and feel from Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, but in a modern day setting. It is gripping, mysterious, hauntingly beautiful and an all around good read.
All of the performances are outstanding.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Engaging Book

Beautifully written. Keeps the listener engaged and anxious for the next chapter. I would recommend this book to friends.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A women's read

I personally thought this story was so engrossing and became very attached to the characters. I enjoyed it so much, I was perplexed by people giving it low ratings. On reading the reviews in more detail I noticed that the majority of the reviewers giving it very low ratings were men. So perhaps this is would be enjoyed more by women? Just my two cents worth..

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A better book than the title.

A friend recommended this book and I was reluctant based on the title and preview. The first little while I wondered if it would keep my attention long enough to finish it, but it kept gettting better. There were a lot of interesting characters and I kept wondering how things would all come together by the end. The two narrators made it interesting. I liked it.

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

Masterful!

Wow. This author is amazing. Her words are so poetic but not overly done. Her descriptions of details are just beautiful. In other reviews I've commented how an author may need to edit their descriptions - that I don't need to know every detail and this book is an exemplary example how how descriptions can add to the moment in a story rather than create a run on and a feeling of 'just get on with it'. Diane Setterfield is a true artist both in her ability to describe a moment as well as her actual story. The Thirteenth Tale is simply a near perfect book.
Oh and the narration is also exemplary. Bianca & Jill do such a fantastic professional job of embodying the characters - man - seriously - just so good. Thank you to all three of you for creating this masterpiece. Such a joy to listen to.

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