'This will without a doubt be one of the best books published this year.'-Daily American 'Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the magical power of story.'-People 'Setterfield proves a mistress of the craft of storytelling, and her musings about the pleasures of reading are most beguiling.'-The Guardian 'A spellbinding story that grabs the reader from the opening pages.'-Toronto Sun

'The shared literary landscape that The Thirteenth Tale re-creates with lush precision takes us back to a time when reading could seem more compelling than life.'-The Columbus Dispatch Lovers of books about book lovers will be enthralled.'-Booklist 'A wholly original work told in the vein of all the best gothic classics. The Thirteeth Tale is a book to savor a dozen times.'-The San Diego Union-Tribune Timeless, charming, a pure pleasure to read. 'A book that you wake in the middle of the night craving to get back to.

Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves. 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. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. 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. 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. Sometimes, when you open the door to the past, what you confront is your destiny. 'Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the magical power of story.'- People Description Instant #1 New York Times bestseller

The thirteenth tale