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, who has family secrets of her own, must unravel the mysteries of the past in order to reconcile not only Ms. Winter with her ghosts, but also Margaret with hers.
As far as mysteries go, this isn't one of the best page turners, but it is full of deep secrets that must be revealed over the course of the book. It is slow at times since most of the action isn't happening real-time. The mysteries are revealed through the story Vida Winter is telling to Margaret Lea in her home. As the book progresses, Margaret leaves the house to do some investigation on her own and uncovers some pieces to the puzzle, but it's mostly a story about a story being told.
That having been said, there are some pretty heavy and shocking twists that are revealed. It just takes a bit of patience to get to those parts. Overall, the author did a great job of thinking the whole story through and then dropping bread crumbs along the trail to lead you to the final answers. She begins by keeping you in a cloud of darkness where you have way more questions than answers, but over time, reveals nuggets of information that will eventually complete the puzzle and leaves you saying "a-ha, now it all makes sense." I'll add that even though there's mention of a ghost in the overview, the story doesn't center around the supernatural and the final revealing of the mystery doesn't rely on magic to connect the dots. The ending justifies the journey, but it could have been a bit more condensed.
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Would I read it again: No
The Thirteenth Tale
by Diane Setterfield
Hardcover: 406 pages
Released: 2006
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