Summary

The Testaments is Margaret Atwood's highly anticipated sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, released in 2019 to critical acclaim. Set 15 years after its predecessor, this work of dystopian fiction returns to the world of Gilead to offer a gripping exploration of power, resistance, and the resilience of the human spirit. Narrated by three distinct voices, including the notorious Aunt Lydia, The Testaments provides a multifaceted view of life in an oppressive regime from women separated by age and social status. Weaving together themes of survival, complicity, and the fight for freedom, the novel delves deeper into the inner workings of this theocratic society while answering long-standing questions that have intrigued fans since the original publication of The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985. 

An instant bestseller, The Testaments won the prestigious Booker Prize. The novel’s release also reignited real-world discussions about women's rights and the dangers of authoritarianism in the contemporary United States. The success of The Handmaid's Tale series on Hulu, which premiered in 2017, undoubtedly contributed to the anticipation surrounding The Testaments. Plans are already underway to adapt this sequel for the small screen. 

Plot

Opening 15 years after the end of The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments follows three narrators whose lives intertwine in the oppressive Republic of Gilead. Aunt Lydia, a powerful figure within the regime, secretly works as a mole for the resistance movement Mayday. She records her experiences in a manuscript that becomes known as the Ardua Hall Holograph.

Agnes Jemima, raised as the daughter of a high-ranking Commander, discovers she is actually the child of a Handmaid. To avoid an arranged marriage, she becomes a Supplicant training to be an Aunt. Meanwhile, in Canada, a teenage girl named Daisy learns she is really Baby Nicole, who was smuggled out of Gilead as an infant. Mayday recruits her for a dangerous mission to infiltrate Gilead and make contact with their mole.

Aunt Lydia brings Agnes and Nicole together at Ardua Hall, revealing their true identities and shared parentage. She enlists them in a plot to smuggle incriminating information about Gilead's leadership to Canada. Agnes and Nicole pose as missionaries, known as Pearl Girls, to escape, while their friend Becka stays behind as a decoy. After a perilous journey, the young women reach Canada with the vital intelligence.

The leaked information leads to upheaval within Gilead, eventually causing the regime's downfall. An epilogue reveals the story was pieced together from Lydia's manuscript and the testimonies of Agnes and Nicole years later, while hinting that their mother may have been Offered, the Handmaid from the original novel.

Themes

• Power dynamics and oppression in totalitarian regimes

• Resilience and resistance against systemic injustice

• The complex nature of moral choices in extreme circumstances

• Intergenerational trauma and its effects on society

• The role of women in shaping history and effecting change

• The power of information and knowledge in challenging authority

• The importance of personal testimony in preserving truth

Setting

The Testaments is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, in the dystopian theocracy of Gilead. This totalitarian regime, which emerged from the former United States, continues to maintain its grip on power but shows signs of internal decay. The novel primarily takes place within Gilead's borders, with some scenes occurring in Canada, which remains a free nation.

Within Gilead, much of the action unfolds in and around Ardua Hall, the headquarters of the Aunts, an elite group of women responsible for indoctrinating and controlling the female population. Other key locations include the homes of high-ranking Commanders in Boston and the preparatory schools where young girls are groomed for their future roles as Wives. The story also ventures into the dangerous outskirts of Gilead as characters attempt to escape.

While the exact year is not specified, the novel's setting bridges the gap between the near-future world of The Handmaid's Tale and a distant future where Gilead has fallen and become the subject of academic study. This creates a sense of historical perspective, allowing readers to view Gilead's oppressive regime as a dark chapter in human history that eventually comes to an end.

Characters

• Aunt Lydia: One of the three narrators, a key figure in Gilead who secretly works to undermine the regime. She was once a judge before Gilead's rise and now serves as one of the highest-ranking Aunts. Lydia records her experiences and insider knowledge in a secret manuscript. Her complex character balances survival, power, and a desire for justice.

• Agnes Jemima (Aunt Victoria): Another narrator, a young woman raised in Gilead as the adopted daughter of a Commander. She escapes an arranged marriage by becoming a Supplicant at Ardua Hall. Agnes learns to read and write, discovers her true origins, and eventually helps smuggle secrets out of Gilead. Her journey represents the struggle of women born into Gilead's oppressive system.

• Nicole (Daisy/Jade): The third narrator, the younger half-sister of Agnes. Raised in Canada, she is unaware of her storied origins in Gilead. After her adoptive parents are killed, she learns her true identity as Baby Nicole. She infiltrates Gilead as part of a resistance mission to obtain crucial intelligence. Nicole embodies hope for a new generation fighting against Gilead's regime.

• Becka (Aunt Immortelle): Agnes's friend, who becomes a Supplicant to escape sexual abuse. She assists in the plan to smuggle information out of Gilead. Becka sacrifices herself to ensure the success of the mission.

• Commander Judd: A high-ranking official in Gilead who seeks to marry young girls. He represents the corruption and hypocrisy at the heart of Gilead's leadership.

• Tabitha: Agnes's adoptive mother, who shows her genuine love and care. She dies early in the story but leaves a lasting impact on Agnes.

• Paula: Commander Kyle's second wife, who mistreats Agnes. She schemes to remove Agnes from the family by arranging her marriage to Commander Judd.

Quick facts

• The Testaments was released 34 years after its predecessor, The Handmaid's Tale.

• The story is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale.

• The Testaments is narrated by three female characters, including Aunt Lydia from The Handmaid's Tale.

• The novel was partly inspired by Margaret Atwood’s belief that writing one's testimony is an “act of hope."

• The Testaments includes a metafictional epilogue set in 2197.

• The Testaments won the 2019 Booker Prize, sharing the award with Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other. 

• The Testaments won Best Fiction in the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards 2020 Fiction Book of the Year.

• Margaret Atwood wrote the novel in coordination with the producers of The Handmaid's Tale TV series.

• The audiobook version features Ann Dowd as a narrator, reprising her role as Aunt Lydia in the popular Hulu series.

• The novel’s jacket art was designed by acclaimed London-based Israeli artist Noma Bar.

• Hulu has announced plans to adapt The Testaments into a TV series.

About the Author

Margaret Atwood is one of Canada's most celebrated and prolific authors, with a career spanning more than five decades. Born in Ottawa in 1939, she has published more than 50 works of fiction, poetry, and critical essays. Her most famous works include the dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale and the historical fiction Alias Grace. Atwood's writing often explores themes of gender, identity, environmental issues, and Canadian national identity.

Atwood's contributions to literature have earned her numerous prestigious awards, including two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. She was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1981 and appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019. Beyond her literary work, Atwood is known for her environmental activism and her invention of the LongPen, a remote robotic writing technology.

Atwood's influence extends beyond literature into popular culture. Several of her works have been adapted for film and television, most notably The Handmaid's Tale series on Hulu. She continues to be a prominent voice in Canadian and international literary circles, known for her sharp wit, social commentary, and advocacy for environmental causes.