The thirteenth tale book club discussion

The book jacket describes the thirteenth tale by stating, 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. And even if you avoid gothic novels like i do, this one. In what ways is the thirteenth tale a classic, gothic novel. Two popular and well received works are the club dumas, a thriller by. Jan 25, 2019 setterfields bestselling debut, the thirteenth tale, was a fusion of the 19thcentury sensation novel with the moderngothic morbidity of early ian mcewan. The thirteenth tale readalong discussion with spoilers.

Book club in a bag sets of 10 copies of this years selection are available for checkout to groups wanting to sample the thirteenth tale. The thirteenth tale is a book which shifts between two main stories. Margaret lea grew up in a household of mourning, but she never knew why until the day she opened a box of papers underneath her parents bed and found the birth and death certificates of a twin sister of whom she never knew. The thirteenth tale archives lincoln city libraries. This book club fits, in that i know i can catch up on the conversation and. Books play an important role in the thirteenth tale. We meet once a month for an informal book discussion. The words based on true events are printed at the beginning of the book. Vida winter, a famous novelist in england, has evaded journalists questions about her past, refusing to answer their inquiries and spinning elaborate tales that they later discover to be false. But other books, books that exist in our world, are also vitally important to the thirteenth tale. Enhance your book club experience ghost stories abound in the thirteenth tale, and in many american towns and cities as well. Margaret lea works in her fathers antiquarian bookshop where her fascination for the biographies of the longdead has led her to write them herself. It stays with you, taking up brain space, whispering incessantly, like the five notes of a song you cant place, but cant escape. Ive read more already this year than my biggest year in the last 5 years and i think thats due to finding you.

Not only is she scheduled for a 14city tour in the states, shell need to write her next novel quickly, because there is no doubt that we book lovers will be clamoring for more. The following questions may contain spoilers for parts of the book. Feel free to download these teaching resources that include a powerpoint presentation with discussion questions and a test with answer key that can be used for student assessment. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the thirteenth tale by diane setterfield. Discuss the appearances and allusions to jane eyre and how this novel echoes that one. Reading guide for the thirteenth tale by diane setterfield. Discuss the various roles of books, stories, and writing in this novel. Review of the thirteenth tale by diane setterfield, plus backstory and other interesting facts about the book. Sep 12, 2006 a dying writer bids a young bookshop assistant to write her biography.

The thirteenth tale by diane setterfield goodreads. My book club, the eclectic bookworms, met last weekend at novel places to discuss our september pick, the thirteenth tale by diane. These book club discussion questions on the thirteenth tale will help you explore setterfields masterfully created story. In which i talk about my reread of the thirteenth tale. She 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. Miss winter asks margaret if shed like to hear a ghost storyin fact, there seem to be several ghost stories weaving their way through. Once upon a river book club favorites discussion 5 second summaries with off the shelf. She is spellbound by the stories and confused when she realizes the book only contains twelve stories.

Find resources for your book club, whether it meets in your living room or across cyberspace. Thanks to everyone who participated in our virtual book club which i introduced here. Dec 14, 2017 are you always struggling to come up with book club questions to help guide your group discussion. In the thirteenth tale, the novel jane eyre appears several times. Which aspects of the book gave you a sense of time, and which seemed timeless. Discuss margaret and miss winters relationships to books. 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. Im going to throw out some discussion topics, and you can feel free to post your commentsabout these topics or other things you want to talk about.

Januarys selection was the thirteenth tale by diane setterfield heres how it works. The thirteenth tale study guide contains a biography of diane setterfield, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. It is written in the style of the brontesisters and alternating between the early and present lives,tells the story of two characters, margaret lea and vida. The thirteenth tale by diane setterfield is a rich story about secrets, ghosts, winter, books, and family. This month my group read the thirteenth tale by diane setterfield. In the end, the thirteenth tale is a different book from jane eyre, more similar to daphne du mauriers rebecca. The thirteenth tale by diane setterfield is not a book you read then forget. Book club the thirteenth tale by diane setterfield. The 2006 gothic novel the thirteenth tale is diane setterfieldsfirst book. The thirteenth tale book club discussion questions thoughtco. We meet each month at the gwinnett county public librarys collins hill branch, located at 455 camp perrin road in lawrenceville.

This bestseller is a book lovers book, with much of the action taking place in libraries and book stores, and the line between fact and fiction constantly blurred. Terri the first time i read this book, it was the unabridged audio book. Did the question of time affect your experience with the novel. How do books, novels, and stories play an important role in this book. The title of this novel is taken from the title of miss winters first book, thirteen tales of change and desperation, a collection of twelve stories with a mysterious thirteenth left out at the last minute before publication.

Miss winter asks margaret if shed like to hear a ghost story in fact, there. The story shifts significantly after the death of mrs. Being very busy at work, i often missed my prior book club meetings because i had evening work events. The main character, margaret lea, is invited to write the life story of bestselling author, vida winter, who has spent her entire career making up her past. Ghost stories abound in the thirteenth tale, and in many american towns and cities as well. The thirteenth tale is a novel in the tradition of the bronte sisters by new writer diane setterfield. The thirteenth tale by diane setterfield is a rich story about secrets, ghosts, winter, books and family. 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. The thirteenth tale by diane setterfield book club. The narrator gives some hints, but never tells the exact date.

If you love to read, consider joining the gwinnett daily post book club. To ask other readers questions about the thirteenth tale, please sign up. Late one night, while pondering whether to accept the task of recording miss winters personal story, margaret begins to read her fathers rare copy of miss winters thirteen tales of change and desperation. It is a classic writers axiom that a symbol must appear at least three times in a story so that the reader knows that you meant it as a symbol. One tells of the life of amateur biographer margaret lea and her exploration of the angelfieldmarch familys past. Publishing simultaneously in 28 countries, the thirteenth tale is going to make setterfield, a former academic living in england, a very busy woman. Januarys selection was the thirteenth tale by diane setterfield. It was described as a gothic novel like jane eyre or wuthering heights with plenty of literary allusions, so it sounded like something we bookish types might enjoy, as well as something a bit lighter after several months of nonfiction selections. The thirteenth tale by diane setterfield book club discussion. The diction, the plot, the feel of the book owe much to a particular kind. Meanwhile, weve still got recordings of some of the special programming events that are being polished up and posted online. If youre looking for an interesting novel for your high school english students, check out diane setterfields the thirteenth tale. When margaret sets out to investigate miss winters tale on her own, she turns first to a book, an almanac of the aristocracy.