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Tag Archives: one book one lincoln
The Thirteenth Tale: Discussion Question #9
Discussion Question #9
The classic Gothic novel was clearly an inspiration for Diane Setterfield when she wrote The Thirteenth Tale. Are you a fan of “Gothic” novels, and if so, which ones have you read and enjoyed? How does the author adapt some of the traditional Gothic conventions, such as haunted houses, family secrets and mistaken identity as catalysts for her own storytelling?
The Thirteenth Tale: Discussion Question #8
Discussion Question #8
The Thirteenth Tale is a novel constructed of plots within plots, stories intersecting and containing other storie. Margaret’s story frames Miss Winter’s. Miss Winter’s story is itself constructed of two threads: the story of her past, which she is telling Margaret, and her present. Still other stories are drawn in around the edges: the story of Hester’s relationship with Angelfield’s doctor; Mrs. Love’s tale; even a brief biography of Ambrose, Aurelius’s father. Did you find that the structure of the book enhanced its telling, or was it a distraction?
The Thirteenth Tale: Discussion Question #7
Discussion Question #7
Like the book whose secrets are hinted at by its cover, houses reveal much about their owners. This is especially true in The Thirteenth Tale, where houses are virtual reflections of their inhabitants. Margaret’s room above her father’s bookshop, Angelfield, and Miss Winter’s Yorkshire home all reveal much about the people who live in them, as does Aurelius’s cozy cottage. What did you think about the meaning of houses and other structures in The Thirteenth Tale? What do the characters’ surroundings say about them and their role in the novel?
The Thirteenth Tale: Discussion Question #6
Discussion Question #6
The Thirteenth Tale is, at its core, a novel about secrets and the ways that the characters are shaped by secrets, their own and the secrets of those around them. Vida Winter is “as famous for her secrets as for her stories” (p. 11), and Margaret is forever scarred by her discovery, at the age of ten, that her mother has kept a secret. What role do secrets play in the story, and which ones did you find most surprising?
The Thirteenth Tale: Discussion Question #5
Discussion Question #5
Margaret tells a tale in the book of becoming so engrossed in reading a book that she falls off the wall where she is sitting. She suggests that this proves that “reading can be dangerous.”
The Thirteenth Tale shows that reading is powerful, and that the dangers of reading are far more pervasive and can be far darker than Margaret’s amusing childhood tale would allow. These dangers are not confined to the naive reader, nor can they be limited to childhood. Reading is a dangerous pastime; words have an inescapable physicality and can work for profound good or profound evil. Do you agree with Margaret about the danger of reading? Why, or why not?