The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel that explores the resistance and hope of a repressive state. It is set in the Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in the United States, and follows the life of Offred, a Handmaid assigned to the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford. Offred's only function is to breed, but she refuses to enter into sexual servitude. The novel is haunting and feminist, and Margaret Atwood is a master of dystopian fiction.

Format: Paperback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 25 May 2017
Publisher: Vintage Classics

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Discover the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series before you read the 2019 Booker Prize-winning sequel The Testaments.

'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...no television event has hit such a nerve ...' Guardian