The Handmaid's Tale cover art

The Handmaid's Tale

The iconic Sunday Times bestseller that inspired the hit TV series

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year at the British Book Awards 2020.

Winner of Best Audiobook (Fiction) at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2020.

Read by Elisabeth Moss, star of the hit Channel 4 TV series.


Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series.

"I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light."

Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. 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.

Masterfully conceived and executed, this haunting vision of the future places Margaret Atwood at the forefront of dystopian fiction.

'As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it' Guardian

'A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist', Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other.

'A contemporary classic… the book serves as a chilling reminder of what women have experienced' Independent

©2011 O W Toad Ltd (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Classics Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Women's Voices World Literature Scary Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist (Bernadine Evaristo, author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER)
Compulsively readable
Out of a narrative shadowed by terror, gleam sharp perceptions, brilliant intense images and sardonic wit
The Handmaid's Tale is both a superlative exercise in science fiction and a profoundly felt moral story (Angela Carter)
Moving, vivid and terrifying. I only hope it's not prophetic
The images of brilliant emptiness are one of the most striking aspects of this novel about totalitarian blindness...the effect is chilling
Powerful...admirable (Robert Irwin)
It's hard to believe it is 25 years since it was first published, but its freshness, its anger and its disciplined, taut prose have grown more admirable in the intervening years... Atwood's novel was an ingenious enterprise that showed, with out hysteria, the real dangers to women of closing their eyes to patriarchal oppression
Turned 25 this year and...worth re-reading. As you grow, such books grow with you
Fiercely political and bleak, yet witting and wise...this novel seems ever more vital in the present day
All stars
Most relevant
The Handmaid's Tale is one of the best books / tv shows to ever happen. The book / audiobook is excellent I just wish there were more

Can't get enough!

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... and now listening to this beautifully delivered reading by Elizabeth Moss. She paces it wonderfully. It has real grace.

Loved reading this book

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I have previously scoffed at Audible’s insistence on calling audiobooks narrated by famous actors “performed” but Elisabeth Moss delivers what I can only describe as a flawless performance here. Wish I could give it many more stars!

Incredible Performance by Elisabeth Moss

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This is a classic but I didn't listen to this on audible until I started watching the TV series and loved it.... I thought the book was bound to be better so I stopped watching the show and got the book instead... it's so good - it's read by Elizabeth Moss who played Ofred in the TV series and she is clearly a very talented lady. The narration was excellent and I felt like she was speaking to me!

What's up with the ending though??? It was a really unexpected twist but I kind of wonder if it's not a bit of an option out when it would be so hard to bring this story to any real conclusion.

On to the sequel.....

Excellent

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loved it. very well read. enjoyed every minuet and resented having to turn off and re enter everyday life

brilliant

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