home), which has since burned and been abandoned. Recording Winter's account (the author allows no questions), Lea becomes completely immersed in the strange and troubling story. In the end, both women have to confront their pasts and the weight of family secrets, as well as the ghosts that haunt them. Title The title of the book is derived from a collection of short stories penned by Vida Winter entitled Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation; the collection was supposed to contain a total of thirteen stories but was shortened to twelve at publication. Though its title was appropriately amended and its cover eventually reprinted to read simply Tales of Change and Desperation, a small number of books were printed with the original title and the twelve stories. This small press run became a collector's item (one of which Lea's father holds). Many of Winter's fans considered the omission of the thirteenth story a delightful mystery, and all wanted the answer to it. During the course of the story, Lea is asked more than once what she knows about the missing tale, and why it was never written. At the novel's conclusion, Lea receives the long-awaited thirteenth tale as a parting gift from Vida Winter. Characters Margaret Lea: a bookstore owner's daughter, whom Vida Winter asks to write her biography. The primary narrator of the book. Vida Winter: a famous novelist who has eluded reporters as to her true past, and is now ready to reveal her secrets to Margaret. Formerly known as Adeline March (a secret used as one of the "three verifiable truths" that Miss Winter reveals to Margaret at the beginning of the story). Later revealed as the ghost and secret paternal younger half-sister to the twins. Isabelle Angelfield: the younger of George Angelfield's two children and the mother of twins Emmeline and Adeline. Charlie Angelfield: Isabelle's older brother, who harbours an obsessive incestuous and sadistic passion for his sister. Emmeline March: the calm, complacent twin. Generally presumed by most to be mentally retarded. Adeline March: the angry, violent twin. Aurelius Love: a resident of the Angelfield village, raised by Mrs. Love, he befriends Margaret. Born from twin Emmeline. John Digence/"John-the-dig": Angelfield's longtime gardener and the Missus' companion. The Missus: Angelfield's aged housekeeper who essentially raises the twins along with John-the-dig. Hester Barrow: governess to Adeline and Emmeline. Dr. Maudsley: the town doctor who, along with Hester, attempts