The Thirteenth Tale
Setterfield's debut novel and the clearest introduction to her gothic mysteries, literary themes, and interest in family secrets and storytelling.
Author guide
Diane Setterfield Books in Order
Diane Setterfield is a British novelist and former academic specializing in French literature, particularly the work of André Gide. Her debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale, was published in 2006 and became a number-one New York Times bestseller. She later published Bellman & Black and Once Upon a River, along with the separately published short tale The Princess and the Pea. She lives in Oxford, England.
gothic fictionliterary fictionhistorical fictionmysteryfairy-tale retellings
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Novels (3)
- The Thirteenth Tale
novel · 2006
Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her…
- Bellman & Black
novel · 2013
Killing a bird with his slingshot as a boy, William Bellman grows up a wealthy family man unaware of how his act of childhood cruelty will have terrible consequences until a wrenching tragedy compels him to enter into a macabre bargain…
- Once Upon a River
novel · 2018
When the seemingly dead body of a child reanimates hours after arriving at an ancient inn on the Thames, three families try to claim her.
Short fiction (1)
- The Princess and the Pea: A Very Short Tale
short_story · 2013
Frequently asked questions about Diane Setterfield
Who is Diane Setterfield?
Diane Setterfield is a British novelist from Berkshire, best known for atmospheric fiction shaped by mystery, memory, and storytelling. She lives in Oxford by the Thames.
What did Diane Setterfield do before becoming a novelist?
She studied French at the University of Bristol, completed a PhD on autobiographical structures in André Gide’s early fiction, and taught English and French in France and the United Kingdom. She left academia in the late 1990s to pursue writing.
Sources: dianesetterfield.com (opens in a new tab)bristol.ac.uk (opens in a new tab)
What influenced Diane Setterfield’s writing?
Setterfield identifies reading as the greatest influence on her writing. Her background in French literature, particularly her study of André Gide, also informs her literary perspective.
Sources: dianesetterfield.com (opens in a new tab)dianesetterfield.com (opens in a new tab)
What awards has Diane Setterfield received?
Her debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale, received the 2007 Alex Award and won the 2007 Quill Award for Debut Author of the Year.
Sources: ala.org (opens in a new tab)abc.net.au (opens in a new tab)
Why is The Thirteenth Tale significant to Diane Setterfield’s career?
The novel became a number-one New York Times hardback fiction bestseller, was published internationally, and sold more than three million copies according to Setterfield’s official profile. It was also adapted for BBC television in 2013.