When her health begins failing, the mysterious author Vida Winter decides to let Margaret Lea, a biographer, write the truth about her life, but Margaret needs to verify the facts since Vida has a history of telling outlandish tales.

Fiction. Literature. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML:Instant #1 New York Times bestseller

"Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the magical power of story."�??People

"Eerie and fascinating."�??USA TODAY

Sometimes, when you open the door to the past, what you confront is your destiny.
Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness�??featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth th

When Margaret Lea opened the door to the past, what she confronted was her destiny. All children mythologize their birth...So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist. The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission. As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It 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, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves. The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that 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.

A compelling emotional mystery about family secrets and the magic of books and storytelling. A dying writer bids a young bookshop assistant to write her biography.

Aging, reclusive author Vida Winter, having given out multiple versions of her life story over the years, decides to finally set the record straight and engages Margaret Lea, a London bookseller's daughter, to write her biography, drawing the young woman into a tale of a governess, a ghost, a willful woman, feral twins, and a gothic mansion.

'The Thirteenth Tale' is a compelling and emotional mystery in the timeless vein of Daphne du Maurier's 'Rebecca', about family secrets and the magic of books and storytelling.

Margaret Lea, a London bookseller's daughter, has written an obscure biography that suggests deep understanding of siblings. She is contacted by renowned aging author Vida Winter, who finally wishes to tell her own, long-hidden, life story. Margaret travels to Yorkshire, where she interviews the dying writer, walks the remains of her estate at Angelfield and tries to verify the old woman's tale of a governess, a ghost and more than one abandoned baby. With the aid of colorful Aurelius Love, Margaret puzzles out generations of Angelfield: destructive Uncle Charlie; his elusive sister, Isabelle; their unhappy parents; Isabelle's twin daughters, Adeline and Emmeline; and the children's caretakers.

Vida Winter, a bestselling yet reclusive novelist, has created many outlandish life histories for herself, all of them invention. Now old and ailing, at last she wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Her letter to biographer Margaret Lea - a woman with secrets of her own - is a summons. Vida's tale is one of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family: the beautiful and wilful Isabelle and the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline. Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling, but as a biographer she deals in fact not fiction and she doesn't trust Vida's account. As she begins her researches, two parallel stories unfold. Join Margaret as she begins her journey to the truth - hers, as well as Vida's.

-- 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.

Da den unge Margaret Lea bliver hyret til at skrive den berømte forfatterinde Winters livshistorie, ser det ud til et ordinært job, men da Winter begynder at fortælle om sit liv, oprulles en særegen fortælling om en familie i opløsning, mystiske tvillingepiger og en altødelæggende brand, og fortæller Winter nu sandheden.

Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author�??s tale of gothic strangeness�??featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth thems

When Margaret Lea opened the door to the past, what she confronted was her destiny. 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, and 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.

Biographer Margaret Lea returns one night to her apartment above her father's antiquarian bookshop. On her steps she finds a letter. It is a hand-written request from one of Britain’s most prolific and well-loved novelists. Vida Winter, gravely ill, wants to recount her life story before it is too late, and she wants Margaret to be the one to capture her history. The request takes Margaret by surprise–she doesn’t know the author, nor has she read any of Miss Winter’s dozens of novels. Late one night, while pondering whether to accept the task of recording Miss Winter’s personal story, Margaret begins to read her father’s rare copy of Miss Winter’s Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation. She is spellbound by the stories and confused when she realizes the book only contains twelve stories. Where is the thirteenth tale? Intrigued, Margaret agrees to meet Miss Winter and act as her biographer. As Vida Winter unfolds her story, she shares with Margaret the dark family secrets that she has long kept hidden as she remembers her days at Angelfield, the now burnt-out estate that was her childhood home. Margaret carefully records Miss Winter’s account and finds herself more and more deeply immersed in the strange and troubling story. In the end, both women have to confront their pasts and the weight of family secrets. As well as the ghosts that haunt them still.

Now a major BBC film, directed by Oscar-winner Christopher Hampton (Atonement and Dangerous Liaisons), starring Vanessa Redgrave and Olivia Colman. Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once home to the March family - fascinating, manipulative Isabelle, brutal, dangerous Charlie, and the wild, untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But Angelfield House hides a chilling secret which strikes at the very heart of each of them, tearing their lives apart... Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield's past - and the mystery of the March family starts to unravel. What has Angelfield been hiding? What is its connection with the enigmatic writer Vida Winter? And what is the secret that strikes at the heart of Margaret's own, troubled life? As Margaret digs deeper, two parallel stories unfold, and the tale she uncovers sheds a disturbing light on her own life...

Tell me the truth. It was a simple request, but one that shook the reclusive author, Vida Winter, to her core. She had spent the last six decades creating alternate lives that brought her fame and fortune, and kept her tragic past a secret. Tell me the truth. These words echoed in the heart of biographer Margaret Lea, for whom the secret of her own birth remained an ever-present source of pain. Tell me the truth. Vida promises Margaret that she would finally reveal the long-held secrets of her extraordinary life. Together, this unlikely pair will confront the ghosts that have haunted their lives for decades.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune, but kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, at last she wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission. As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It 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, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling, but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them and become, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

Soon to be a major BBC film, directed by Oscar-winner Christopher Hampton (Atonement and Dangerous Liaisons), starring Vanessa Redgrave and Olivia Colman.

The Thirteenth Tale

Margaret Lea 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. Somewhat anxiously, the equally reclusive Margaret travels to Yorkshire to meet her subject - and Vida starts to tell her tale. It is one of gothic strangeness featuring the March family; her mother, the beautiful and wilful Isabelle, who had a powerful hold on her father and brother, and the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline. But as a biographer she deals in fact not fiction, and she doesn't entirely trust Vida's account. She goes to check up on the family, visit their old home and piece together the story in her own way. What she discovers on her journey to the truth chills the blood ...

'Simply brilliant' Kate Mosse, international bestselling author of Labyrinth *** Everybody has a story... Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once home to the March family: fascinating, manipulative Isabelle; brutal, dangerous Charlie; and the wild, untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But the house hides a chilling secret which strikes at the very heart of each of them, tearing their lives apart... Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield's past, and its mysterious connection to the enigmatic writer Vida Winter. Vida's history is mesmering - a tale of ghosts, governesses, and gothic strangeness. But as Margaret succumbs to the power of her storytelling, two parallel stories begin to unfold... What has Angelfield been hiding? What is the secret that strikes at the heart of Margaret's own, troubled life? And can both women ever confront the ghosts that haunt them...? The Thirteenth Tale is a spellbinding mystery, a love letter to storytelling, and a modern classic.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune, but kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, at last she wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

Vida has always been reclusive, publishing popular "autobiographies" that are anything but the truth. Nearing death, Vida wants to tell her last tale--the notoriously missing 13th tale-- before her time comes. Struck by curious parallels to her own life, a young bookshop assistant agrees to help Vida reveal the truth.

Margaret Lea, who works in her father's bookshop, has a fascination for the biographies of the long-dead. When she gets a letter from the mysterious and reclusive famous author Vida Winter asking Margaret to write about her extraordinary life, Margaret is thrilled. Traveling to Yorkshire to meet Vida, she's captivated by Vida's storytelling, but doesn't entirely believe some of it. What Margaret discovers on her journey to confirm the truth is for her a chilling and transforming experience.

A dying writer bids a young bookshop assistant to write her biography in this compelling, emotional mystery about family secrets and the magic of books and storytelling.

"All children mythologize their birth... "So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the 12 that do exist.

Biographer Margaret Lea returns one night to her apartment above her father's antiquarian bookshop. On her steps she finds a letter. It is a hand-written request from one of Britains most prolific and well-loved novelists. Vida Winter, gravely ill, wants to recount her life story before it is too late, and she wants Margaret to be the one to capture her history.

A love story.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (2006)

Margaret Lea, an antiquarian bookseller and sometime biographer of obscure writers, receives a letter from Vida Winter, "the world's most famous living author." Vida has always invented pasts for herself in interviews, but now, on her deathbed, she at last has decided to tell the truth and has chosen Margaret to write her story. Now living at Vida's (spooky) country estate, Margaret finds herself spellbound by the tale of Vida's childhood some 70 years earlier...but is it really the truth? And will Vida live to finish the story?

"'Tell me the truth.' It is a simple request, but one that shakes the reclusive and enigmatic novelist, Vida Winter, to her very core. For has she not spent the past six decades writing fictional lives that have not only brought her fame and fortune but kept her violent and tragic past a secret? Now old and ailing, Vida Winter cannot escape her own history, no matter how many stories she weaves." "'Tell me the truth.' These words from the past echo in the heart of young biographer Margaret Lea, for who the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who love her most, remains an ever-present pain. With a letter that promises finally to reveal the long kept secrets of her life, Vida Winter invites Margaret on a journey to the past." "Vida's tale is one of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family: the beautiful and wilful Isabelle and the feral twins, Adeline and Emmeline. In succumbing to Vida's storytelling, Margaret finds that it sheds a troubling light on her own life. Both women confront the ghosts that have haunted them and both become, finally, transformed by the truth."--BOOK JACKET.

Having spent six decades creating a series of alternate lives designed to bring her fame and fortune while hiding the truth about her tragic past, reclusive and enigmatic Vida Winter finds herself torn by young Margaret Lea's simple request for the truth about her own birth. A first novel. Reprint.

Amateur biographer Margaret Lea receives a letter from reclusive author Vida Winter, summoning her to write Vida's life story. As Margaret pieces together Vida's story on her own, what she discovers is a chilling and transforming experience.

The reclusive writer Vida Winter has spent six decades trying to avoid her past, by creating various outlandish life histories for herself. She summons Margaret Lea, whose past is not unlike her own to write the truth of her past. The story of the Angelfield family is mesmerizing.

Margaret Lea, a London bookseller's daughter, has written an obscure biography that suggests deep understanding of siblings. She is contacted by renowned aging author Vida Winter, who finally wishes to tell her own, long-hidden, life story. Margaret travels to Yorkshire, where she interviews the dying writer, walks the remains of her estate at Angelfield and tries to verify the old woman's tale of a governess, a ghost and more than one abandoned baby. With the aid of colorful Aurelius Love, Margaret puzzles out generations of Angelfield: destructive Uncle Charlie; his elusive sister, Isabelle; their unhappy parents; Isabelle's twin daughters, Adeline and Emmeline; and the children's caretakers. Margaret Lea, a bookseller's daughter, whose own past is a mystery, is contacted by Vida Winter, a venerated author renowned for her secrecy. Vida has always been reclusive, publishing popular "autobiographies" that are anything but the truth. Now, Vida is nearing death, and she wants to tell her last tale--the notoriously missing 13th tale--before her time comes. Struck by curious parallels to her own life story, Margaret agrees to help Vida and reveal the truth. Travelling to an aging and haunted estate, Margaret is unprepared for the heartache that will accompany Vida's deepest secrets--and what they will reveal about her own past. As Margaret is transformed by what she learns, she and Vida can finally confront the demons of their past.

This is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children.

"'Tell me the truth'. It is a simple request, but one that shakes the reclusive and enigmatic novelist, Vida Winter, to her very core. For has she not spent the past six decades writing fictional lives that have not only brought her fame and fortune but kept her violent and tragic past a secret? Now old and ailing, Vida Winter cannot escape her own history, no matter how many stories she weaves." --COVER.

A dying writer bids a young bookshop assistant to write her biography.

In one of the most exceptional debuts of the season, Setterfield delivers a magnificently atmospheric and haunting tale of a woman who discovers long-held secrets of the past. Abridged. 5 CDs.

The enigmatic Vida Winter has spent 6 decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself; now she summons biographer Margaret Lea to at last tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Together they confront the ghosts that have haunted both of them.

Setterfield's debut novel translates into a great audio book that loses none of the suspense, surprise and satisfaction that come with a wonderful tale. The voices of two of the best dramatic talents working today turn Setterfield's story into a glorious treat for listeners. Henshall, who reads as Margaret Lea, and Redgrave, who plays recluse writer Vida Winter, create mood and tension with their voices, which settles listeners into the narrative with ease. Margaret, a young bookseller and amateur biographer, is chosen by Miss Winter as the recipient of the secret of her tragic past. She reveals, layer by layer, the mesmerizing tale of the Angelfield family that includes murder, insanity, feral twins, a ghost and a fire. Margaret's own past in some ways parallels Miss Winter's, leading them both through the blaze of memory into the truth. Audio fans will be dazzled; fans of the written word will find new depth to The Thirteenth Tale thanks to the rich work of two veteran readers.

Vida Winter, a famous author, has been confounding her biographers and fans for years by giving everybody a different version of her life, each time swearing it's the truth. Vida chooses Margaret Lea, a young, unworldly, bookish girl who is a bookseller in her father's shop to tell her story, all of it, for the first time.

Fiction. Historical Fiction. Elderly, well-loved author Vida Winter commissions Margaret Lea to record her biography in this gothic mystery. Bianca Amato is stunning as Margaret, who is coming to terms with the truth of her own life as she slowly unravels the facts of Ms. Winter's. Amato's 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. An author interview is icing on the cake. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine. HTML:

June 26, 2006
Former academic Setterfield pays tribute in her debut to Brontë and du Maurier heroines: a plain girl gets wrapped up in a dark, haunted ruin of a house, which guards family secrets that are not hers and that she must discover at her peril. Margaret Lea, a London bookseller's daughter, has written an obscure biography that suggests deep understanding of siblings. She is contacted by renowned aging author Vida Winter, who finally wishes to tell her own, long-hidden, life story. Margaret travels to Yorkshire, where she interviews the dying writer, walks the remains of her estate at Angelfield and tries to verify the old woman's tale of a governess, a ghost and more than one abandoned baby. With the aid of colorful Aurelius Love, Margaret puzzles out generations of Angelfield: destructive Uncle Charlie; his elusive sister, Isabelle; their unhappy parents; Isabelle's twin daughters, Adeline and Emmeline; and the children's caretakers. Contending with ghosts and with a (mostly) scary bunch of living people, Setterfield's sensible heroine is, like Jane Eyre, full of repressed feeling�??and is unprepared for both heartache and romance. And like Jane, she's a real reader and makes a terrific narrator. That's where the comparisons end, but Setterfield, who lives in Yorkshire, offers graceful storytelling that has its own pleasures.

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Fiction. Historical Fiction. Elderly, well-loved author Vida Winter commissions Margaret Lea to record her biography in this gothic mystery. Bianca Amato is stunning as Margaret, who is coming to terms with the truth of her own life as she slowly unravels the facts of Ms. Winter's. Amato's 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. An author interview is icing on the cake. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine. HTML:When Margaret Lea opened the door to the past, what she confronted was her destiny.

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, and 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

Author Vida Winter, having given out several versions of her life story over the years, decides to finally have Margaret Lea write her biography and draws the young woman into a tale of a governess, a ghost, a willful woman, and a gothic mansion.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish histories for herself. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary past. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman who is struck by a very curious parallel between Winter's life and her own.

A biographer who is haunted by the untold story of her own birth agrees to work with a reclusive author who has told numerous fictional accounts of her childhood and now wishes to let the truth be known.

...וידה וינטר היא סופרת נערצת בערוב ימיה שעברה לוט בערפל, והגרסה שלה לסיפור חייה משתנה מריאיון לריאיון. מרגרט לי היא אישה צעירה ונחבאת אל הכלים שעובדת בחנות הספרים של אביה. תחביבה הוא כתיבת ביוגרפיות של סופרים עלומי שם. אל תוך חייה המסוגרים של מרגרט לי חודר לפתע מכתב מווינטר, שמזמינה אותה לכתוב את הביוגרפיה שלה. הפעם הסופרת המפורסמת והמסתורית מבטיחה לספר את הסיפור האמיתי. בפגישה באחוזתה האפלולית של הסופרת הנוטה למות מתגלים קווים מקבילים בחייהן של השתיים, ומרגרט לי נסחפת לקבל על עצמה את המשימה. יחד מתעמתות שתי הנשים עם הגעגוע העומד ביסוד חייהן, אך המסתורין אינו מתפוגג: האם וינטר חושפת את כל האמת? ומהו הסיפור השלושה-עשר? על רקע הנופים הקודרים של יורקשייר מגוללת דיאן סטרפילד בשפה קולחת עלילה מרתקת, שבה גילויו של סוד משפחתי אחד מוביל לסודות רבים נוספים... (משער אחורי).

Sie ist Englands erfolgreichste Autorin und in aller Munde, und doch wei keiner, was damals in jener Nacht, als der Familiensitz bis auf die Grundmauern niederbrannte, wirklich geschah. Nun, dem Tode nah, erleichtert Vida Winter erstmals ihr Gewissen und beichtet der Buchhändlerin Margaret die schockierende Wahrheit über sich und ihre Zwillingsschwester. - "Viktorianischer Schmöker" für romantische Seelen.

"Vpervye na russkom ? 'Trinadtsataia skazka' Diany Setterfild ? priznanny? shedevr sovremenno? angli?sko? prozy, kniga, otkryvshaia dlia shiroko? publiki zhanr 'neogotiki' i zastavivshaia anglo-amerikanskikh kritikov zagovorit? o vozvrashchenii zolotogo veka britanskogo romana, oveiannogo imenami Sharlotty i ?mili Bronte i Dafny Diumor?e. Debiutny? roman skromno? uchitel?nitsy, prava na kotory? byli kupleny za nebyvalye dlia nachinaiushchego avtora den?gi (800 tysiach funtov za britanskoe izdanie, million dollarov ? za amerikanskoe), obognal po prodazham bestsellery poslednikh let, byl momental?no pereveden na neskol?ko desiatkov iazykov i udostoilsia ot retsenzentov pochetnogo imeni 'novo? Dzhe?n ??r'.Margaret Li rabotaet v bukinistichesko? lavke svoego ottsa. Sovremennosti ona predpochitaet Dikkensa i sester Bronte. Tem bol?she udivlenie Margaret, kogda ona poluchaet ot samo? znamenito? pisatel?nitsy nashikh dne? Vidy Vinter predlozhenie stat? ee biografom. Ved? nichut? ne men?she, chem svoimi knigami, miss Vinter znamenita tem, chto eshche ne skazala ni odnomu interv?iueru ni slova pravdy. I vot pered Margaret, okazavshe?sia v stenakh mrachnogo, naselennogo prizrakami proshlogo osobniaka, razvorachivaetsia v bukval?nom smysle slova goticheskaia istoriia sester-bliznetsov, kotoraia strannym obrazom pereklikaetsia s ee lichno? istorie? i postepenno podvodit k razgadke ta?ny, svodivshe? s uma mnogie pokoleniia chitatele?, ? ta?ne 'Trinadtsato? skazki'..."--

En ung antikvarboghandler bliver bedt om at skrive den reserverede forfatter Vida Winters biografi. Den fortælling, der oprulles af den døende forfatter, handler om en mærkelig familie i et stort hus med en mystisk baby og en brand.

¿Dónde está la verdad? La historia más importante de su vida era la que nunca había escrito. Entre mentiras, recuerdos e imaginación se teje la vida de la señora Winter, una famosa novelista ya muy entrada en años que pide ayuda a Margaret, una mujer joven y amante de los libros, para contar por fin la historia de su misterioso pasado. «Cuénteme la verdad», pide Margaret, pero la verdad duele, y solo el día en que Vida Winter muera sabremos qué secretos encerraba El cuento número trece, una historia que nadie se había atrevido a escribir. Después de cinco años de intenso trabajo, Diane Setterfield ha logrado el aplauso de los lectores y el respeto de los críticos con una primera novela que pronto se convertirá en un clásico. «El cuento número trece es un espléndido homenaje a la mejor literatura del siglo XIX, de La mujer de blanco a Rebecca, y muy especialmente Jane Eyre: todos los elementos de la novela gótica y de misterio están ahí, y Setterfield ha sabido combinarlos con maestría.» - The Independent «El cuento número trece es un libro que nos devuelve el amor por la lectura.» - The Spectator ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Instant #1 New York Times bestseller "Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the magical power of story."--People "Eerie and fascinating."--USA TODAY Sometimes, when you open the door to the past, what you confront is your destiny. Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness--featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

Un secreto de familia celosamente guardado se descubre por fin gracias a la voluntad y el tesón de una joven escritora. Margaret, hija de un coleccionista de libros antiguos y escritora primeriza, acepta escribir la biografía de la misteriosa novelista Vida Winter, una mujer que, no obstante el éxito de sus libros, siempre ha rehuido el contacto con la prensa y ahora por fin ha elegido a Margaret para contar los hechos de su vida.

Un secreto de familia celosamente guardado se descubre por fin gracias a la volu.

Ingen vet hvem den sagnomsuste og gåtefulle forfatteren Vida Winter er. Hun har brukt hele sitt liv på å dikte historier om seg selv; den grufulle sannheten tåler ikke dagens lys. Nå, gammel og syk, ønsker hun å lette på mysteriets slør. Den unge Margaret Lea er slått av parallellen mellom Vida Winters liv og sitt eget og takker ja til å skrive biografien hennes. Historien hun avdekker, er mørk og ubehagelig. Den kretser rundt familien Angelfield: den vakre og egenrådige Isabelle, hennes bror Charles og de uregjerlige tvillingene Adeline og Emmeline. Det er en uhyggelig beretning om utemmet villskap og galskap, forbudt kjærlighet, brå død, forråtnelse og usynlige bånd. Men hva er sannhet, og hva er diktning? Hva er Vidas historie, og hva er Margarets egen? Og hva er mysteriet om den trettende fortellingen?