Nantucket Blogworks

Okay ladies, this one’s for you.  Although it’s not a love story, Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale, is a throwback to our favorite gothic novels; Jane Eyre,

Wuthering Heights,

Northanger Abbey

and Rebecca
…

I was drawn in immediately by the mystery that surrounds one of the main characters, Ms Vida Winter, and her true identity.  The narrator, Ruthie Henshall, (Margaret Lea)has a captivating voice, but I love when they have more than one reader for a book.  So I was stoked to hear a second voice ring into my earbuds; Lynn Redgrave (Vida Winter)

Quick intro to the story from Wikipedia…

Vida Winter, the most famous novelist in England and quite possibly the world, has never been forthcoming when it comes to her past. Her entire life is a secret, and for fifty years reporters and biographers have attempted to discover the truth. With her health quickly fading, Ms. Winter enlists a bookish amateur biographer named Margaret Lea to bear witness to the tragic story of the Angelfield family, their eccentric beginnings as well as their demise. Margaret, who has family secrets of her own, must unravel the mysteries of the past in order to reconcile not only Miss Winter with her ghosts, but also Margaret with her own.

I spent the last two CDs, almost in their entirety, sitting on my bed totally focused on the words that were pouring into my ears.  And countless other times, I would find myself at my desk staring out the window focusing on the Angelfield twins instead of the work in front of me.  It’s not life-changing by any means, but it is a captivating and beautiful escape.  It’s as charmingly written as it is read.

I give it a solid B… I could even be talked into a B+.  It’s definitely worth listening to, especially for the rockin’ price of $14.99!

Other books of a similar vein…

Obviously the aforementioned Northanger Abbey, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights… I love love love the sweet new cover by Ruben Toledo and click on his name to read an article about other classics he’s clad.
Lists of more recent Gothic Novels are found here and  here.

Filed under: Audio Reviews, Book Reviews, By Dani