“I found 'The Thirteenth Tale' to be a very intriguing story. It had me hooked from the beginning up until the end, which had a twist I would have never expected. Although there are two heroines, I fould the true star of this novel to be Vida Winter. As she told her story, I felt as if I was sitting there with her, listening along with Magaret. And when she wasn't telling her story all I wanted to do was hurry though the pages until the story resumed.
Margaret Lea works in her father’s antiquarian bookshop where her fascination for the biographies of the long-dead has led her to write them herself. She gets a letter from one of the most famous authors of the day, the mysterious Vida Winter, whose popularity as a writer has been in no way diminished by her reclusiveness. Until now, Vida has toyed with journalists who interview her, creating outlandish life histories for herself --- ;all of them invention. Now she is old and ailing, and at last she wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Her letter to Margaret is a summons.
Somewhat anxiously, the equally reclusive Margaret travels to Yorkshire to meet her subject. Vida’s strange, gothic tale features the Angelfield family; dark-hearted Charlie and his unbrotherly obsession with his sister, the fascinating, devious, and willful Isabelle, and Isabelle’s daughters, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline. Margaret is captivated by the power of Vida’s storytelling, but she doesn’t entirely trust Vida’s account. She goes to check up on the family, visiting their old home and piecing together their story in her own way. What she discovers on her journey to the truth is for Margaret a chilling and transforming experience. ”
Tiffany wrote this review Saturday, November 8, 2008.
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