The Handmaid's Tale: The iconic Sunday Times bestseller that inspired the hit TV series (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)

by Margaret Atwood

4.02 of 5 stars 120 ratings • 28 reviews • 192 shelved
Book cover for The Handmaid's Tale

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** THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER **

Discover the dystopian novel that started a phenomenon.

Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford – her assigned name, Offred, means ‘of Fred’. She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire. As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.

'A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist' Bernadine Evaristo

‘As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it’ Guardian

  • ISBN10 0099511665
  • ISBN13 9780099511663
  • Publish Date 7 October 2010 (first published 1 January 1985)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Out of Print 9 June 2024
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Vintage Publishing
  • Imprint Vintage Classics
  • Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
  • Pages 336
  • Language English