The Thirteenth Tale (not to be confused with the 13th Element, which is also good)

Who's ready for a new Book? I know I am. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield comes highly recommended and this heartwarming romp will be a departure from the white supremacy of Forrest Carter. Okay, so I don't know if it's exactly a heartwarming romp, but if I were to be commissioned to write summaries on the jacket of this or any other book, you can rest assured that is what I would write.

I did, however, find this summary from Setterfield's own site dedicated to the book:

Margaret Lea works in her father’s antiquarian bookshop where her fascination for the
biographies of the long-dead has led her to write them herself. 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. Until now, Vida has toyed
with journalists who interview her, creating outlandish life histories for herself—all of
them invention. Now she is old and ailing, and at last she wants to tell the truth about her
extraordinary life. Her letter to Margaret is a summons.

Somewhat anxiously, the equally reclusive Margaret travels to Yorkshire to meet her
subject. Vida’s strange, gothic tale features the Angelfield family; dark-hearted Charlie
and his unbrotherly obsession with his sister, the fascinating, devious, and willful
Isabelle, and Isabelle’s daughters, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline. Margaret is
captivated by the power of Vida’s storytelling, but she doesn’t entirely trust Vida’s
account. She goes to check up on the family, visiting their old home and piecing together
their story in her own way. What she discovers on her journey to the truth is for Margaret
a chilling and transforming experience.

The site also lists the favorite books of our character Margaret as including works by Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, and that guy who wrote Sherlock Holmes. (Maren's gonna love this). But don't fret if you are one of those that get scared off by the mere mention of Miss Austen, or if you are male. I have it on good authority that this book is a not only a crowd pleaser but of great literary quality. At least I hope so. And if the appearance of the website sends anyone into a panic stricken anxiety, don't get your panties in a twist. You can always read the dialogue in robotey voices. Damian is working on a series of sci-fi Austen films so you can always go to him for instructions on the matter. (How's that going for you Damian?).

Happy Reading!

disclaimer: my sister expressed some concern that there is some incest mentioned in the writing and perhaps shouldn't be recommended for a book club audience. I assured her that we are, in fact, The Super Amazing NEW Book Club and are all for incest. She said, in that case, we would love it.

And to all of you that missed last night, you missed out. We hope to see you next time.