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When Margaret Lea opened the door to the past, what she confronted was her destiny.
All children mythologize their birth... So begins the prologue1 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 tragic2 past a secret. Now old and ailing3, 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 remains4 an ever-present pain.
Disinterring the life she meant to bury for good, Vida mesmerizes5 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 devastating6 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.
The Thirteenth Tale is a return to that rich vein7 of storytelling that our parents loved and we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter, and in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.
玛格丽特·李在她父亲的古旧书店工作。由于爱好读古人的传记，她决定也尝试为自己感兴趣的古人立传。一天，她突然收到著名作家维达·温特的来信。温特一直过着隐居的生活，非常神秘低调，但并不影响她作品的畅销。在此之前，温特编造了很多她生活经历的离奇事情来糊弄采访她的记者。但是，随着年龄的增长和疾病缠身，她决定说出自己真正的人生。写给玛格丽特的信就是召唤玛格丽特为她立传。
带着好奇，同样深居简出的玛格丽特来到约克郡见到维达·温特。按照维达的叙述，她妈妈伊莎贝尔美丽而任性，她的父亲，哥哥，以及调皮的双胞胎弟弟阿德林和埃墨林都听从于她。玛格丽特自己也是双胞胎，所以她对维达的故事既疑惑，又好奇。但是作为传记作家，她严格遵守真实的原则，并不完全相信维达所说。于是她开始着手调查这个家庭，按照自己的调查结果将这个家庭的故事拼接起来。然而，寻找真相的过程令人胆战心惊，并改变了玛格丽特自己的命运……
About Author
Diane Setterfield is a former academic, specializing in twentieth-century French literature. She lives in Yorkshire, England.
戴安娜·赛特菲尔德（Diane Setterfield），曾研究过十九、二十世纪法国文学。后开始写作，本书是其处女作。戴安娜现居住于英国的约克郡。
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