The weather here has begun to contract. It begins its annual disassembly into the fundamentals of winter. The sun has lost its violence. Humidity has been trucked away from view. It is still warm, but just. The mornings creak and whisper, a bite in the air. It is no great secret why ghost stories maintain their currency. I simply don't care. Rattling chains and mysterious footfalls can be regarded as symbols of family secrets. Personally I don't need creepy enhancements of subterfuge: I've heard all that before, and without the moaning as well. My family history is disturbing enough without the inexplicable. Ectoplasm doesn't scare me. Sigh.

The Thirteenth Tale recalls The little Stranger. I hated that one as well. Instead of broaching class relations in postwar England, The Thirteenth Tale attempts to garner steam from the literary sleuth sub-genre: instead of the Vatican, this time it is the moors.. Imagine my surprise upon realizing how unliterary our scholar proved to be, not mention the author Diane Setterfield. Middlebrow mewling into Jane Eyre: I should've known better.

A mysterious pageturner full of plot twists and dysfunctional families. A novice biographer is invited to hear the story of one of the most famous writers of her time. The author is eloquent and thought provoking through the voice of writer Vida Winter, who has experienced much sorrow during her mysterious past. The passion for books was deeply conveyed through many characters, which was highly inspiring for a librarian :)

The story begins when Margaret Lea is engaged to write the biography of one of the best known authors of her time- Vida Winter. She is best known for her book, The Thirteenth Tale. Many have attempted to publish her biography- but Miss Winter tells different stories every time she sits down with a biographer. But this time is different. She promises Margaret the truth, and she promises three verifiable facts. What unfolds is an unbelievably twisted tale of the life of Vida Winter. This unexpected tale will keep you guessing until the very end.

Honestly this book gutted me. In the best possible way.
I gasped out loud in sections, cried during others, and was moved beyond words.
Books should make you feel and this book is not lacking in that.

4.5 stars. Incredible imagery, great plot, but it did occasionally drag on a bit.

5/10, nothing wrong with it really and I enjoyed parts for sure but the whole vibe was a little too literary try hard for me at the end. I wouldn't not recommend it, but I won't recommend it either. I had fun trying to define it as a cross pollination in my head though like the 7 husbands of evelyn hugo x Wuthering Heights maybe????

Starts out slow, but if you truly love books you'll love this one

This is a wonderful gothic tale that reminds me of Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, Jane Eyre, etc... The main character is a reclusive woman who works in a bookstore owned by her father. Together they spend afternoons sitting in the bookshop reading (sounds lovely doesn't it). She prefers the classics, proper stories with proper endings. She also writes short biographies about obscure people. One of these biographies catches the attention of a famous modern author who is notorious for her changing stories about her life. She asks her to come and write the "real" story about her life. What follows is a story with twists and turns , insanity, twins, murder, betrayal and secrets.

Good stuff!

Playing around with voice was a fun little device in this book - when will she say I? So much of the mystery is unraveled by one little pronoun. However, the problem with different voices is that sometimes the same stories will be told again - and, unfortunately, right near the end of the book, when things are rising to a climax, and it's a real page turner, a long story is retold from a different perspective, but not so different that it was really all that necessary, and I found myself skimming to get passed it.

But other than that, a good book to be housebound in the snow. It really was a lovely tribute to gothic novels like Jane Eyre and The Woman in White (which someday I will get around to finishing!).