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BookBrowse Reviews The Thirteenth Tale: 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.

The Thirteenth Tale
by Diane Setterfield
Paperback, Oct 2007,
432 pages.
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Setterfield's erudite first work of fiction has all the hallmarks of a classic gothic novel, including the creepy ruined house, long-kept secrets, a madwoman in the attic and a dabbling of ghosts, Set in present-day England it has drawn comparisons to novels by the likes of Daphne du Maurier, Wilkie Collins and Charlotte Bronte. Speaking in an interview shortly after The Thirteenth Tale was published, Setterfield says, "I read French literature almost exclusively for more than a decade, so when I left academia, I really wanted to go back to the English classics which I loved so much as a teenager. It was very nostalgic for me to write in that sort of style."

With short chapters often ending on cliff hangers, a female protagonist with a knack for cracking codes, and a large cast of...
Beyond the Book
What is a gothic novel? Definitions of a gothic novel abound but most sources agree that it is one in which supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of terror are pervasive, and where the action usually takes place in a dark, mysterious building, typically a castle built in the Gothic architectural style*.

Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764) is considered the first gothic novel, but it was Ann Radcliffe who popularized the form with novels such as The Mysteries of Udolpho. During the 19th century there was a Gothic revival in...
This review was originally published in October 2006, and has been updated for the October 2007 paperback release. Click here to go to this issue.
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