ATWOOD MARGARET The bestselling author of The Handmaid's Tale takes readers back 150 years and inside
the life and mind of one of the most notorious women of the 1840s--Grace Marks, serving a life sentence for the
vicious murders of a wealthy landowner and his mistress. Into this rich work of the imagination, Atwood brings
her brilliant insights into the relationships between men and women and between the society of the entitled and
those without position.
In her bestselling novel The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood masterfully took us to a chilling world
of the future. In her astonishing new novel Alias Grace, she just as convincingly takes us back 150 years
and inside the life and mind of one of the most notorious women of the 1840s. Grace Marks is serving a life sentence
for her part in the vicious murders of Thomas Kinnear, a wealthy landowner, and Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper
and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Grace herself now claims to have
no memory of the murders.
Simon Jordan, a young New England doctor in the field of mental health and an expert on amnesia, has been engaged
to find out the truth. To do so, he must awaken that part of Grace's mind that lies dormant, using the practices
of the science he has such great faith in. As Grace reveals details about Kinnear's and Nancy's unconventional
domestic arrangements, Simon brings her closer and closer to the day she has so determinedly repressed.
Into this rich work of the imagination--of sex, violence, immigration, spiritualism, and the brutal existence
of the underprivileged--Margaret Atwood has brought her brilliant insights into the relationships between men and
women and those between the society of the entitled and those without positions. Superbly evoking a century past
and alive with mesmerizing storytelling, Alias Grace is vintage Atwood.
Margaret Atwood takes us back in time and into the life and mind of one of the most enigmatic and notorious
women of the nineteenth century. Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her
employer, the wealthy Thomas Kinnear, and of Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace
is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence after a stint in Toronto's lunatic asylum,
Grace herself claims to have no memory of the murders. Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning
field of mental illness, is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens
to her story, from her family's difficult passage out of Ireland into Canada, to her time as a maid in Thomas Kinnear's
household. As he brings Grace closer and closer to the day she cannot remember, he hears of the turbulent relationship
between Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery, and of the alarming behavior of Grace's fellow servant, James McDermott.
Jordan is drawn to Grace, but he is also baffled by her. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories?
Is Grace a female fiend, a bloodthirsty femme fatale? Or is she a victim of circumstances?
The New York Times bestselling author of The Robber Bride details the life and mind of one of the most notorious
women of the 1840s. Grace Marks is serving a life sentence for her part in the vicious murders of a wealthy landowner
and his mistress, an event for which Grace herself claims to have no memory. Simultaneous hardcover release from
Doubleday/Nan A. Talese. .