Alias Grace

468 pages

English language

Published Jan. 9, 1996 by Nan A. Talese.

ISBN:
978-0-385-47571-6
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
34675726

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(27 reviews)

Margaret Atwood takes us back in time and into the life and mind of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the nineteenth century. Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer, the wealthy Thomas Kinnear, and of Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence after a stint in Toronto's lunatic asylum, Grace herself claims to have no memory of the murders.

Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness, is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story, from her family's difficult passage out of Ireland into Canada, to her time as a maid in Thomas Kinnear's household.

As he brings Grace closer and closer to the day she …

83 editions

An Excellent Book About Stories

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Alias Grace (1996)

Alias Grace is a historical fiction novel by Margaret Atwood based on Grace Marks, a woman found guilty of murder in the 1840’s as a teenager, who then spent 29 years in prison in Ontario before being pardoned. In this novel, set when Grace had been in prison for around twenty-six years, a church community in Kingston petitioning the Canadian government for her pardon brings in a young physician, Dr Simon Jordan, who wishes to make a case study of her. The novel alternates between Grace and Simon’s points of view as it explores an intimate, vulnerable, and unflinching fictionalization of her life rooted in what we know about the historical woman. Simon struggles to maintain his professionalism as he becomes too drawn into her story, endures the provincial nature of Kingston in the 1840’s, and becomes entangled in some of his own choices. The novel is …

Intriguing.

Perhaps it's my interest in murderers (particularly serial murderers) from a criminological perspective that made me enjoy this novel as much as I did.

Based on a real person, Atwood took the constant double-standards in the presentation of Grace Marks and weaves a tale between the facts. Providing actual quotes from relevant media prior to each part of the book, she shows the ways in which Grace was frequently treated -- not smart enough to have done it, but so incredibly clever in how she pulled it off; a delicate young flower, but grisly and cold. Everyone saw something different, everyone had the same sets of double-standards for her.

I do wish, however, that there would've been more to Jeremiah. I enjoyed that character, even though she discussed how he was immoral in his own way despite being kind. Even though I loathe real-life pseudoscience and the cons who persist …

Review of 'Alias Grace' on 'Goodreads'

"Alias Grace" by Margaret Atwood is a seductive work written by one of the best contemporary authors. I first encountered Atwood through her novel "The Handmaid's Tale" and I loved its creativity, playfulness, and insightful examination of the complex position of women in society. You see these qualities in "Alias Grace," though in a very different genre: historical fiction. Both novels have much to say about our present moment and get to the heart of the idea of a women's voice (or perceived lack of voice).

The novel takes place in the 19th century and concerns Grace Marks, a woman convicted of murdering her employer and his housekeeper. Though based on a true story, this telling is speculative and based on Atwood's reading of the confessions, accounts, and evidence presented. Grace tells her story through conversations with a young psychologist looking for a case that will make his career. Yet …

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Subjects

  • Marks, Grace, b. 1826 -- Fiction
  • Women murderers -- Fiction
  • Trials (Murder) -- Fiction
  • Murder -- Fiction
  • Canada -- Fiction

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