Who Wrote The Handmaid's Tale, When, and How Long Is It?
Margaret Atwood, a Canadian author, wrote The Handmaid's Tale between 1984 and 1985, and it was first published in 1985. Most paperback editions run to about 300 pages.
She began it in West Berlin in the spring of 1984, and its working title was Offred.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author | Margaret Atwood (born 1939, Ottawa) |
| Began writing | Spring 1984, in West Berlin |
| Also written in | Canada and Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Published | 1985 (McClelland and Stewart, Canada) |
| Length | About 300 pages (306 to 311 in common editions) |
| Awards | Governor General's Award 1985; Arthur C. Clarke Award |
| Sequel | The Testaments, 2019 |
Who is Margaret Atwood?
Atwood was born in Ottawa in 1939 and was already a major Canadian writer when the book came out. The Handmaid's Tale was her sixth novel. Others include The Blind Assassin (2000) and Oryx and Crake (2003).
↑ Back to the topWhen and where did she write it?
In her own account, she began the book in the spring of 1984 while living in West Berlin, then still encircled by the Berlin Wall. She left Berlin in June 1984, returned to Canada, wrote through the autumn, and spent early 1985 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she held a university writing post.
It was not first called The Handmaid's Tale. Her journal shows that it was titled Offred until 3 January 1985, when almost 150 pages had been written. The new title is a nod to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
↑ Back to the topWhen was it published?
It came out in 1985 from McClelland and Stewart in Canada. It won the Governor General's Award that year and was the first winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction in 1987.
The book is dedicated to, among others, Mary Webster, an ancestor of Atwood's who was implicated in a witchcraft case in 17th-century New England.
↑ Back to the topHow long is it?
The length depends on the edition. A library record for the 1985 Heinemann edition lists 306 pages, and the Anchor paperback has 311. The text is divided into 46 chapters plus the Historical Notes at the end.
The language is plain, the chapters are short, and the book is generally read in a few sittings. It contains violence and sexual content, so schools and libraries often treat it as an adult or older-teen title.
↑ Back to the topDid Atwood write a sequel?
Yes, The Testaments, published in September 2019. It takes place about fifteen years after the original and shared the Booker Prize with Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Handmaid’s Tale
This guide covers the novel only. The TV series and the 1990 film differ in places.