‘The Thirteenth Tale’, Diane Setterfield’s debut gothic suspense novel was chosen as the first book to be read for the Angels’ Knit & Book. The book follows the story of Margaret Lea, a bookish amateur biographer who is enlisted by Vida Winters, a famous yet evasive and mysterious novelist, to write her autobiography. Long kept, dark family secrets are revealed as Vida recalls her childhood, and Margaret becomes immersed in the eerie and troubling story. Both women have to confront their pasts and the ghosts that haunt them.

The book switches between the past and present day lives of the main characters, Margaret and Vida, and their stories becomes more intertwined as the story progresses. The main theme of the book is the mythology of twins, such as their bond and separation and the idea of a ‘good twin’ and an ‘evil twin’. Death and isolation are also explored, which are experiences that the main characters share. Finally identity is another dominant idea, throughout the book the main characters struggle with the feeling that they are not whole people, that something about them is missing.

During our meeting we looked at the different themes of the story, and discussed when we thought the novel was set, which had us divided in opinion! Overall the group really enjoyed the book, there was the right amount of suspense and creepiness without scaring us too much and the mystery of Vida’s story kept us all guessing until the final twists in the tale were revealed. We all found the book unputdownable, and one member of the group had a sleepless night, unable to sleep until she had finished the book.

We gave the book 8/10, setting the bar high for future books on the Knit & Book club list!

Click here to find out when our next book club is.