The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The story Vera tells is both fascinating and a bit horrifying.

The hint at another story of twins convinces Margaret to stay and she takes on the project. She feels, constantly, the hole left in her life by her sister’s absence. One day, as a child, home alone, she found the birth certificates hidden in a tin under her parents’ bed, informing her that her twin died on the day of their birth when the doctors attempted to separate the conjoined twins. she herself is a twin, although no one knows this except herself and her parents (who have never told her of it). She meets with Vera Winter on the appointed day and is almost ready to leave, sure that she will get just another fanciful set of tales from the author, when Vera tells her, desperately, that the story is about twins. Margaret has written a few short biographies, but mostly for her own pleasure, and is quite shocked that she is the chosen one. The letter says that Vera is nearing the end of her life and is, at last, ready to disclose her true background and she wants Margaret to be the one to write it.

One day, Margaret returns to the bookstore late at night to find a letter addressed to her from Vera Winter. It has become almost a rite of passage to have such an interview with Vera Winter. Whenever she is asked about her past, she makes up some fantastic story, often correlating it to her most recent publication.

No one has any idea who she really is or where she is from. Margaret says its as if she appeared, in her twenties, with the publishing of her first book. Not only is Vera Winter known for her exceptional writing, but also for her mysterious background. Margaret certainly knows who Vera Winter is – the most famous author of her time – but is disinclined to read her work, simply because all her reading time is already devoted to 18th century writers. Her father, more well-rounded in his reading, suggests she might enjoy the writings of Vera Winter. She loves to read, but is mainly interested in 18th century writers. In the Thirteenth Tale, Margaret Lea works in her father’s small bookshop. Two weeks ago, when I was getting ready to go to the library, I looked up the title on a whim and discovered that not only did the library own it, but it was checked in. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, of course, is a serious best-seller, so it’s not as though I’ve found some secret treasure here, but I hadn’t talked to a soul who’d read it, and frankly I didn’t know one thing about it, except that I’d seen the title pop up on amazon recommendations several times. This is one of those books that I feel like I just stumbled upon.