The Thirteenth Tale

[diddl]

Anyone else see this?

I was only half watching.

Which twin did Vida save?

Or is the thing that we work it out ourselves?

In the book you have a feeling that it's the "wrong" one.
In my opinion book far better than tv adaption. Would thoroughly recommend it.,
Dm and df watched it and said they loved it so think I ruined it for myself by reading the book first :)

i saw it,
but who was vida?

i think the crazy one died

Vida was Charlies daughter who the gardener & housekeeper brought up.

She was nameless & took the name Adeline after it was assumed she was the other twin after the fire.

I think that it was Emmaline who died though.

it was the crazy one, they locked her in teh burning room i think

I was really disappointed with the adaptation , so much detail was missed out in order to fit it into 90 minutes. A 2 part series would have done the book far more justice in my opinion.

In the book we're led to believe that Vida has always wondered which twin she actually saved, that was completely lost in the programme. And in the book Aurelius plays a much more important role.

Another lost detail that is central to the story and actions of Olivia. Coleman's character is the circumstances surrounding the death of her twin - it was completely different in the book.

Emmaline was still alive and living with Vida, where she died in her dotage, so it wasn't her. In the flashback Vida finished off Adeline, who had started the fire, by locking her in the burning room.

BUT it was impossible to tell who was who, given all the main characters were played by identikit flame-haired alieny models who didn't act much. Ok, they were - admittedly - meant to look alike. But still, given the plot hinges on their actions and identity....

I was underwhelmed by the whole show, not least because you couldn't tell the main characters apart, and the atmosphere of zero suspense throughout.

I assumed it was Emmaline who died as the twin Margaret saw in the garden wasn't talking coherently.

Definitely lost a lot of tension and detail by being crammed into 90 minutes. Should have done a two parter.
I love Olivia Coleman but felt they wasted her a bit. I liked the actress who played Vida too.
Such a shame they rushed it so much.

perplexed-are you young?

Vida was played by Vanessa Redgrave.

Her parents were actors-Michael Redgrave & Rachel Kempson, her siblings were-Corin & Lynn Redgrave & her daughters are/were-one being the late Natasha Richardson, wife of Liam Neesom & the other Joely Richardson.

I enjoyed it, but I didn't think it suceeded very well as an adaptation of the story. I've not read the book, but the gestalt switch that it obviously carries off effectively was a bit muddy and gradual in the film.

What I LOVED were the scenes with Olivia Coleman and Vanessa Redgrave talking to one another. The complicated story that Vida was communicating was incidental to that. It was just lovely to have two such wonderful actors playing women with strong and intriguing personalities without either of them having to be a satellite to some much less interesting and powerful male character. And there was such warmth and vibrancy in the colours of those scenes. Lovely.

i enjoyed it too,
i think olivia coleman said somewhere recently how nervous she was to be perfroming alongside vanessa redgrave.

Sorry, perplexed-that was a patronising post about the Redgraves.

I agree it didn't really do justice to the book at all, in spite of the amazing cast. I quite enjoyed it, but it was lacklustre and rather disappointing.

I think I must read the book because the TV production left a lot of unanswered questions for me.

I presume all three children had the same father but did they have the same mother?

How did the nameless third one survive in the green house for about 2 years before she started stealing fruit and veg?

Didn't the police/fire brigade notice there was a body in the locked room and were there any investigations carried out.

Drudge I thin the nameless one's mom kept her for a while. In the book I'm sure it explains that. At the end of the book the 13th tale is revealed and it's about her conception and that her mom was raped by Charlie. It's written like a dark Cinderella story.

Re:Vanessa Redgrave, it was lovely to see her with make up and hair colour. She's very attractive. In RL she does tend to go for the plain/interesting look.

I thought at the very end when "Vida" was dying she spoke in the twins 'unique' language.

I am not very young. I've heard of her of course, but never put the name to the face. Now I know!

I thought it was really disappointing :( expected much more.

I loved the book but struggled a bit to understand this adaptation. Would recommend the book as a good read if anybody is looking for one

I loved the book and I thought the TV adaptation was wonderful. A book is always going to give you much more than a TV prog imo, but I thought they did a great job of bringing it to life. I thought Vanessa Redgrave was amazing and also the girl or girls who played the children. I loved all the flame haired, white nightdressed, crumbling ruin general gothicyness... it was my favourite thing on over Christmas and it has inspired me to reread the book. Has anyone read the new one by Diane Setterfield, Bellman and Black? I'm keen to know if it's as good as her first book.

I have read Bellman and Black and loved it.

Thanks, may just have to read it then!

I hated Bellman and Black. Not a patch on The Thirteenth Tale.
I found it hard to believe it was written by the same person, actually.

I thought it was a crap adaptation of the book-too much to cram into 90 minutes. It was not dark enough imo-the incest and rape story lines were just glossed over.

In the book I think it is very heavily hinted that it was the "evil" twin that she mistakenly rescued.