The Handmaid's Tale

A contemporary classic… the book serves as a chilling reminder of what women have experienced * Independent *A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist – Bernadine EvaristoCompulsively readable * Daily Telegraph *The mother of all feminist dystopian novels * Red *The novel satirises the strain of evangelical puritanism in American culture and the objectification and control of women’s bodies. It is more broadly a contemporary myth of despotic power, and how such power deforms those who are subjected to it * Observer *The Handmaid’s Tale is both a superlative exercise in science fiction and a profoundly felt moral story – Angela CarterOut of a narrative shadowed by terror, gleam sharp perceptions, brilliant intense images and sardonic wit – Peter Kemp * Independent *Margaret Atwood is a wry and perceptive observer of society as well as an original storyteller * Psychologist *The images of brilliant emptiness are one of the most striking aspects of this novel about totalitarian blindness…the effect is chilling – Linda Taylor * Sunday Times *Brilliantly conceived and executed, this powerful evocation of twenty-first century America gives full rein to Margaret Atwood’s devastating irony, wit and astute perception * Essence *

Margaret Atwood is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her novels include Cat’s Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin and the MaddAddam trilogy. Her 1985 classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, was followed in 2019 by a sequel, The Testaments, which was a global number one bestseller and shared the Booker Prize. Her most recent publications are the poetry collections Dearly and Paper Boat; Burning Questions, a selection of essays; and Old Babes in the Wood, a volume of short stories.

Atwood is a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, and has won numerous awards including the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. She has also worked as a cartoonist, illustrator, librettist, playwright and puppeteer. She lives in Toronto, Canada.