Alias Grace
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First published in 1996, Alias Grace revisits one of nineteenth-century Canada’s most notorious criminal cases. Grace Marks, an Irish immigrant and domestic servant, was convicted of participating in the 1843 murders of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery. Years later, Dr Simon Jordan, a physician interested in the workings of the mind, interviews Grace in the hope of uncovering the truth behind the crime. As her recollections unfold, Atwood draws the reader into a world of conflicting testimonies, social prejudice and unsettling uncertainty, where the boundary between memory, invention and self-preservation remains elusive.
Grounded in historical research yet rich in psychological ambiguity, the novel explores gender, class, immigration, madness and the authority granted to those who claim to interpret another person’s mind. Atwood gives particular attention to the limited choices available to women in Victorian society, revealing how Grace’s story is shaped by the expectations of doctors, judges, journalists and the public. A distinguished work of historical fiction, Alias Grace exemplifies Atwood’s ability to transform archival history into a searching literary investigation of identity and truth. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Canadian Giller Prize.
From the book
“When you are in the middle of a story it isn't a story at all, but only a confusion.”
— Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace
On Alias Grace
“A remarkable achievement.”
— The New York Times Book Review