Margaret Atwood – the visionary author behind The Handmaid’s Tale, Dua’s Monthly Read for November – joins us to celebrate the release of her extraordinary new memoir, Book Of Lives, out now.
In this special episode for the Service95 Book Club, Margaret dives deep into your questions across her remarkable catalogue – from the origins of her unforgettable characters to the uncanny accuracy of her imagined futures. What comes first: character, place, or premise? How conscious is she of rhythm and sound when crafting her sentences? Does she ever change her mind about the direction of a story midstream? And how did she navigate the challenging emotions behind Cat’s Eye?
Margaret also reflects on the eerie prescience of The Handmaid’s Tale and considers the parallels between Serena Joy and today’s Tradwife movement – with her trademark wit, precision, and insight.
Watch the episode here or listen to it as a podcast here.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is Dua’s Monthly Read for November – explore the full conversation and discover more with the Service95 Book Club...
- WATCH Dua’s interview with Margaret
- BOOKMARK the novels that inspired Margaret Atwood’s vision
- DISCOVER what to read next from Margaret’s back catalogue
- LISTEN to The Handmaid’s Tale playlist, curated by Margaret
- READ Dua’s essay on what reading The Handmaid’s Tale taught her about the world
- EXPLORE what The Handmaid’s Tale tells us about women’s rights today
- MEET the costume designer who brought Gilead to life for the screen
- DON’T MISS Margaret read an excerpt from her memoir as she recounts the origins of Offred
