The Thirteenth Tale
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | Diane Setterfield |
| Products | Suspense novel |
The Thirteenth Tale (2006), the inaugural novel by Diane Setterfield, is a suspenseful work rooted in the gothic tradition.
Plot
Vida Winter, a celebrated English author, has consistently dodged inquiries about her background, weaving intricate but fabricated stories. As her health deteriorates, she enlists Margaret Lea, an amateur biographer, to chronicle her life. Carrying her own family mysteries, Lea finds that delving into Winter’s history compels her to face her own unresolved issues.
The story opens with Lea receiving an invitation from Winter to write her biography before Winter succumbs to a terminal illness. Initially unfamiliar with Winter’s writings, Lea becomes captivated after reading Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation, a collection that intriguingly contains only twelve stories.
Upon meeting, Lea attempts to refuse the request but is convinced by Winter’s promise of a ghost story involving twins. Lea consents under the condition that Winter provides three verifiable facts. Though hesitant, Winter agrees, and their exploration of the past commences: "Once upon a time there were two little girls...".
Winter reveals grim family secrets from her upbringing at Angelfield, an estate now destroyed by fire and deserted. As Lea transcribes the uninterrupted narrative, both women become immersed in a layered story of concealed truths and haunting legacies, ultimately confronting their interconnected histories.
Title
The novel’s title is derived from Vida Winter’s original anthology of short stories named Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation. Although intended to include thirteen tales, only twelve were published, resulting in the retitled Tales of Change and Desperation. Copies bearing the initial title have become prized collectibles. The elusive thirteenth story remains a central enigma, pursued by both readers and characters alike. At the conclusion of the novel, Lea is gifted this missing tale by Vida Winter.
Characters
- Margaret Lea: daughter of a bookseller; she is commissioned by Vida Winter to write her biography and serves as the main narrator.
- Vida Winter: a famous novelist who conceals her true identity; later revealed as Adeline March with secret ties to the twins.
- Isabelle Angelfield: youngest child of George Angelfield and mother to twins Emmeline and Adeline.
- Charlie Angelfield: Isabelle’s elder brother with an obsessive and cruel fixation on her.
- Emmeline March: the serene twin often assumed to have cognitive impairments.
- Adeline March: the aggressive and violent twin.
- Aurelius Love: raised locally by Mrs. Love; he befriends Margaret and is Emmeline’s son.
- John Digence ("John-the-dig"): longtime gardener and companion to the Missus at Angelfield.
- The Missus: housekeeper at Angelfield who helped raise the twins alongside John-the-dig.
- Hester Barrow: governess responsible for the twins’ care.
- Dr. Maudsley: town physician involved in experimental treatments administered to the twins.
- George Angelfield: father of Charlie and Isabelle; shows favoritism towards Isabelle after his wife’s death.
- Mathilde Angelfield: mother who died during childbirth giving birth to Isabelle.
- Judith: housekeeper employed by Vida Winter.
- Dr. Clifton: personal doctor attending Vida Winter.
- Mrs. Love: local woman who raised Aurelius after he was abandoned as an infant.
- Ambrose Proctor: former employee at Angelfield estate with a pivotal role revealed later.
Style
The narrative alternates between the past and present experiences of the two protagonists, Margaret Lea and Vida Winter. At the beginning, Lea discusses her role working in her father’s antique bookshop, her brief stint as an amateur biographer, and the childhood revelation that she was once a conjoined twin whose sister died shortly after their separation. This traumatic event sheds light on her distant relationship with her mother, who became emotionally withdrawn following the loss. After introducing Vida Winter, parts of the story are told from Winter’s perspective during her meetings with Lea in the latter’s library. Winter’s vivid recollections provide Lea with the material needed to assemble the commissioned biography.
Initially, Winter’s tale is narrated in third-person past tense but switches to first-person narration when a pivotal character, Charlie, disappears. This narrative shift is later explained when Lea uncovers hidden truths about the March family. The story moves back and forth between Lea’s current-day investigation and Winter’s retelling of the March family’s past.
Visual markers distinguish transitions between Lea’s voice and Winter’s account, with dialogue predominantly occurring in present-day scenes, especially in exchanges between Lea and Aurelius.
Structure
The Thirteenth Tale weaves together two principal storylines: Margaret Lea’s inquiry into the history of the Angelfield/March family and Vida Winter’s personal narrative. Occasionally, these are complemented by letters and notes from secondary characters. Changes in sections are signaled by graphical elements, asterisks, or new chapter headings.
The novel is mainly told through first-person narration from Lea’s viewpoint, inviting readers to solve mysteries alongside her. The perspective occasionally shifts to other characters such as Vida Winter—through her storytelling sessions—and Hester Barrow via diary excerpts. Winter’s narration transitions from third-person to first-person, raising questions about its reliability; this ambiguity is resolved later when it is revealed that Vida is a half-sibling of the twins.
The book is organized into four parts: Beginnings, Middles, Endings, and Beginnings once more. Each part begins with a title page displaying a photograph that hints at its themes. The opening 'Beginnings' features two pairs of black-buckled shoes symbolizing twins and their connections. 'Middles' depicts a slightly open door, representing deeper entry into the mysteries surrounding Winter and the March family. 'Endings' shows torn pages from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, a novel influential to characters like Lea and Winter; these ripped pages signify the conclusion of their intertwined stories.
Themes
Death
The theme of death permeates the entire narrative, influencing its direction. From Margaret’s conjoined twin’s passing to Isabelle’s mother dying during childbirth, each loss affects family relationships and developments. George’s withdrawal following his wife’s death left his children under servant care, contributing to family dysfunction. Later deaths—including George succumbing to septicaemia, Isabelle passing away from influenza in an institution, and Charlie taking his own life—left Angelfield without leadership or financial oversight. The Missus and John-the-dig managed affairs until their accidental deaths; thereafter came Adeline’s presumed death in a fire and Emmeline’s natural passing in old age. Ultimately, Vida Winter falls victim to her own internal struggles after sharing her story. Margaret contemplates death as integral to storytelling, emphasizing that "proper endings" involve both marriage and death.
Identity
Identity serves as a core theme explored through Margaret’s feelings of incompleteness upon learning about her deceased conjoined twin. Her efforts to come to terms with this loss highlight the novel’s focus on fragmented selfhood.
Loss
Closely linked with identity, loss recurs throughout: Margaret’s lost twin, Isabelle’s institutionalization, Charlie’s suicide, disappearances, and multiple deaths within the Angelfield family all represent profound absences. Vida Winter’s ultimate loss of her cherished half-sister further underscores this motif.
Reconciliation
The story concludes with Margaret encountering her missing twin, achieving a sense of completeness. Vida Winter also experiences a posthumous reunion with her half-sister.
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre appears repeatedly as a symbol reflecting themes of outsider status and female empowerment. Hester resembles Jane as a governess figure but diverges by lacking romantic involvement with Charlie. The novel employs Jane Eyre as a recurring motif that mirrors internal conflicts while serving as a literary touchstone for both Margaret and Vida Winter. Diane Setterfield pays tribute to this classic through frequent references and symbolic elements such as Aurelius's torn page.
Isolation
Isolation impacts several characters: Margaret grows up without siblings and with an emotionally distant mother; Isabelle and Charlie endure neglect; Emmeline and Adeline exist as isolated twins amid familial dysfunction. For Margaret, reading offers solace and connection to others, indirectly easing her solitude. The seclusion experienced by Angelfield inhabitants shapes their unusual behaviors and emotional detachment.
Twins
Twins represent duality and complex relationships throughout the book. Traditionally associated with unity as well as rivalry, here they symbolize halves of a whole whose separation results in deep trauma. The narrative explores concepts like "evil twins" and doppelgangers to heighten supernatural undertones. The inseparability of Adeline and Emmeline is central; their enforced separation causes emotional devastation likened to surviving an earthquake—alive yet fundamentally changed. This bond highlights themes of identity, loss, and mutual dependence within the story.
Reception
Within a week of its release, the novel ascended to the top position on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2006. Critics emphasized its resonance with modern Gothic literature:
- Kirkus Reviews described it as "a modern Gothic narrative whose occasional extravagances and slight improbabilities are overshadowed by the excitement of the storytelling. Setterfield's first work offers an enchanting Gothic experience for today’s readers."
- Library Journal remarked that it "captures the reader’s attention with a chilling grip and maintains suspense until every startling revelation unfolds."
- The Washington Post observed that although the book features fluid rhythms and richly atmospheric scenes, it predominantly recycles familiar literary conventions instead of breaking new ground.
AudioFile magazine praised the audiobook production, spotlighting Bianca Amato’s captivating interpretation of Margaret alongside Jill Tanner’s commanding portrayal of Vida, underscoring their exceptional narrative delivery.