Synopsis
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England, in a strongly patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state, known as the Republic of Gilead, which has overthrown the United States government. The central character and narrator is a woman named Offred, one of the group known as "handmaids", who are forcibly assigned to produce children for the "commanders" — the ruling class of men in Gilead.
The novel explores themes of subjugated women in a patriarchal society, loss of female agency and individuality, and the various means by which they resist and attempt to gain individuality and independence.
The Handmaid's Tale won the 1985 Governor General's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987; it was also nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award.
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[Novels](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24301311W)
Recommendations
Oryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood
Readers who enjoyed the dystopian world-building and social commentary of The Handmaid's Tale will find similar themes and Atwood's distinctive narrative voice in Oryx and Crake, another of her acclaimed speculative fiction novels.
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1984
by George Orwell
Like The Handmaid's Tale, 1984 explores the chilling consequences of a totalitarian regime that seeks to control every aspect of its citizens' lives. Readers drawn to the bleak atmosphere and powerful social critiques will find much to appreciate in Orwell's classic.
The Testaments
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
As the highly anticipated sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments continues Atwood's exploration of the Republic of Gilead, offering readers a deeper dive into the dystopian world and new perspectives on the ongoing struggle for freedom.
Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Readers who appreciate the haunting, melancholic tone and thought-provoking exploration of identity and humanity in The Handmaid's Tale will find similar emotional resonance in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, another acclaimed work of speculative fiction.
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The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Like The Handmaid's Tale, The Giver presents a dystopian society that tightly controls its citizens, leading readers to question the nature of freedom, individuality, and the price of conformity. Fans of Atwood's novel will appreciate the compelling narrative and thematic depth of this young adult classic.
View bookAbout Margaret Atwood
M
Margaret Atwood
Born 1939
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, OC is a Canadian writer. A prolific poet, novelist, literary critic, feminist and activist, she has received national and international recognition for her writing. ATWOOD, whose work has been published in over forty countries, is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, and critical essays. In addition to The Handmaid's Tale, now a successful MGM-Hulu television series currently preparing its fourth season, her novels include Cat's Eye, shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; Oryx and Crake, shortlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize; The Penelopiad; The Heart Goes Last; Hag-seed; and The Testaments, a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, published in September, 2019. She lives in Toronto some of the time.
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