Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride is inspired by "The Robber Bridegroom," a wonderfully grisly tale from the Brothers Grimm in which an evil groom lures three maidens into his lair and devours them, one by one. But in her version, Atwood brilliantly recasts the monster as Zenia, a villainess of demonic proportions, and sets her loose in the lives of three friends, Tony, Charis, and Roz. All three "have lost men, spirit, money, and time to their old college acquaintance, Zenia. At various times, and in various emotional disguises, Zenia has insinuated her way into their lives and practically demolished them.
To Tony, who almost lost her husband and jeopardized her academic career, Zenia is 'a lurking enemy commando.' To Roz, who did lose her husband and almost her magazine, Zenia is 'a cold and treacherous bitch.' To Charis, who lost a boyfriend, quarts of vegetable juice and some pet chickens, Zenia is a kind of zombie, maybe 'soulless'" (Lorrie Moore, New York Times Book Review). In love and war, illusion and deceit, Zenia's subterranean malevolence takes us deep into her enemies' pasts.
Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride is inspired by "The Robber Bridegroom," a wonderfully grisly tale from the Brothers Grimm in which an evil groom lures three maidens into his lair and devours them, one by one. But in her version, Atwood brilliantly recasts the monster as Zenia, a villainess of demonic proportions, and sets her loose in the lives of three friends, Tony, Charis, and Roz. All three "have lost men, spirit, money, and time to their old college acquaintance, Zenia. At various times, and in various emotional disguises, Zenia has insinuated her way into their lives and practically demolished them.
To Tony, who almost lost her husband and jeopardized her academic career, Zenia is 'a lurking enemy commando.' To Roz, who did lose her husband and almost her magazine, Zenia is 'a cold and treacherous bitch.' To Charis, who lost a boyfriend, quarts of vegetable juice and some pet chickens, Zenia is a kind of zombie, maybe 'soulless'" (Lorrie Moore, New York Times Book Review). In love and war, illusion and deceit, Zenia's subterranean malevolence takes us deep into her enemies' pasts.
Add to your library to track progress and write reviews
Add to your library to track progress and write reviews
Find The Robber Bride Margaret Atwood in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find The Robber Bride Margaret Atwood in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
14 books in catalog
Speculative fiction and dystopian literature found one of their defining contemporary anchors in the 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale, a narrative exploring totalitarian control, bodily autonomy, and societal resistance. Margaret Atwood developed the novel using exclusively real-world historical precedents, constructing a grounded examination of religious authoritarianism.
Her extensive bibliography spans more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, literary criticism, non-fiction, and graphic novels published in over forty-five countries. Beyond dystopias, Atwood's fiction encompasses psychological realism, historical re-examinations, and speculative visions of environmental and technological crisis.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1939, Atwood grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College at Harvard University. She began publishing poetry in the 1960s before establishing her prose fiction career with early novels such as Surfacing and Cat's Eye, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Her international reach expanded with historical fiction such as Alias Grace, which won Canada's Giller Prize and Italy's Premio Mondello. In 2000, Atwood won the Booker Prize for The Blind Assassin. She returned to speculative fiction with Oryx and Crake, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2003, which initiated her MaddAddam trilogy. In 2019, Atwood published The Testaments, a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale that became a co-winner of the Booker Prize. Alongside her writing, she has taught as a university professor, written literary commentary, and advocated for environmental protection while residing in Toronto.
Atwood's writing is characterized by stylistic precision, satirical irony, and formal experimentation. A recurring focus across her work is the examination of gender, power dynamics, institutional control, and human survival within shifting social environments. She frequently uses complex narrative frames, historical documents, and multi-layered perspectives to question cultural myths and recorded histories.
Her non-fiction writing, including Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004 to 2021, demonstrates her active interest in climate change, civil liberties, and the social role of art. Whether writing speculative fiction, historical drama, or critical prose, Atwood relies on extensive research and sharp observation to examine contemporary ethics.
14 books in catalog
Speculative fiction and dystopian literature found one of their defining contemporary anchors in the 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale, a narrative exploring totalitarian control, bodily autonomy, and societal resistance. Margaret Atwood developed the novel using exclusively real-world historical precedents, constructing a grounded examination of religious authoritarianism.
Her extensive bibliography spans more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, literary criticism, non-fiction, and graphic novels published in over forty-five countries. Beyond dystopias, Atwood's fiction encompasses psychological realism, historical re-examinations, and speculative visions of environmental and technological crisis.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1939, Atwood grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College at Harvard University. She began publishing poetry in the 1960s before establishing her prose fiction career with early novels such as Surfacing and Cat's Eye, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Her international reach expanded with historical fiction such as Alias Grace, which won Canada's Giller Prize and Italy's Premio Mondello. In 2000, Atwood won the Booker Prize for The Blind Assassin. She returned to speculative fiction with Oryx and Crake, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2003, which initiated her MaddAddam trilogy. In 2019, Atwood published The Testaments, a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale that became a co-winner of the Booker Prize. Alongside her writing, she has taught as a university professor, written literary commentary, and advocated for environmental protection while residing in Toronto.
Atwood's writing is characterized by stylistic precision, satirical irony, and formal experimentation. A recurring focus across her work is the examination of gender, power dynamics, institutional control, and human survival within shifting social environments. She frequently uses complex narrative frames, historical documents, and multi-layered perspectives to question cultural myths and recorded histories.
Her non-fiction writing, including Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004 to 2021, demonstrates her active interest in climate change, civil liberties, and the social role of art. Whether writing speculative fiction, historical drama, or critical prose, Atwood relies on extensive research and sharp observation to examine contemporary ethics.
