The Thirteenth Tale.
All children mythologize their birth. . . . So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's beloved collection of stories, long famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale. The enigmatic Winter has always kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she summons a biographer to tell the truth about her extraordinary life: Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth remains an ever-present pain.
Disinterring the life she meant to bury for good, Vida mesmerizes Margaret with the power of her storytelling. Hers is a tale of gothic strangeness, featuring the Angelfield family -- including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, and the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline -- a ghost, a governess, and a devastating fire. Struck by a curious parallel between their stories, Margaret demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them.
I really liked listening to this novel. It was fast, kept my interest and I really fell into the story. I was taken in by the characters and the mystery. The story took twists and turns, went forwards and then would suddenly jump backwards whe Margaret would find a flaw and call Ms. Winters on it. I thought the narration was great, and for my first audio book, I was happy the voice did not annoy me.
The only thing that bugged me about this book was a few bits at the end. There were some characters brought in that weren't ever present throughout the rest of the book, and didn't make any sense to me. It felt rushed to me at the end to wrap things up.
All in all, I really enjoyed listening to this, and I feel like I would have very much enjoyed reading this novel.
In Honour of Earth Day, I listening to this book rather than read it. 5 Points for me!
This was some of the best writing I read in a while. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and sometimes I wonder if I would have preferred actually reading it. I'll never know. Overall, glad you liked it!
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