Recommendations
Books Like The Thirteenth Tale
Best books to read after The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale is the Gothic literary bestseller about a reclusive author and the biographer who hears her true story. These recommendations explore the Victorian Gothic tradition or offer companion reading in the tradition of the dark, atmospheric literary novel about secrets, twins, and the stories we tell to survive.
- 1Buy
Once Upon a River
by Diane Setterfield
The companion Setterfield novel — a mysterious child found in a Thames-side inn on a midwinter's night, Setterfield's third novel sharing The Thirteenth Tale's Gothic atmosphere, its love of storytelling as a subject, and its setting in a rural English past.
- 2Buy
Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier
The essential Gothic predecessor — the nameless narrator at Manderley, the shadow of the first Mrs. de Winter, du Maurier's most celebrated novel and the primary influence on The Thirteenth Tale's atmospheric Gothic structure.
- 3Buy
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte
The Victorian Gothic companion — Jane at Thornfield Hall, the madwoman in the attic, Charlotte Bronte's novel is one of the foundational texts The Thirteenth Tale is in deliberate dialogue with; the mad twin in Setterfield's novel echoes Bertha Mason directly.
- 4Buy
The Woman in White
by Wilkie Collins
The Victorian sensation companion — Walter Hartright and the woman in white, Collins's multi-narrator mystery novel sharing The Thirteenth Tale's commitment to mystery, revelation, and the unreliability of any single witness's account.
- 5Buy
Fingersmith
by Sarah Waters
The contemporary Victorian Gothic companion — Sue Trinder in a confidence trick in 1860s London, Waters's formal plot-twist novel sharing The Thirteenth Tale's ability to completely reframe what the reader thought they knew.
- 6Buy
The Little Stranger
by Sarah Waters
The other Waters Gothic companion — Dr. Faraday at Hundreds Hall in postwar England, the ghost story or haunted-house novel that most closely matches The Thirteenth Tale's Gothic atmosphere and its interest in whether supernatural explanations are the real ones.
- 7Buy
The Historian
by Elizabeth Kostova
The literary dark mystery companion — a young woman tracing her father's correspondence across Europe, Kostova's atmospheric Gothic novel sharing The Thirteenth Tale's interest in historical secrets pursued through documents and letters.
- 8Buy
The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The European literary Gothic companion — Daniel Sempere in post-war Barcelona discovering the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Zafón's novel sharing The Thirteenth Tale's love of books as sacred objects and its conviction that stories can be dangerous.
More The Thirteenth Tale Resources
More Reading Recommendations
View all →Monthly Newsletter
Never miss a big release
Get the most anticipated upcoming books delivered to your inbox once a month — no spam, no filler.
Monthly only. Unsubscribe anytime.
Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BookReleaseRadar earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.