Hag-Seed: William Shakespeare's The Tempest Retold in Bloomington, MN

NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER • The beloved author of
The Handmaid’s Tale
reimagines Shakespeare’s final, great play,
The Tempest,
in a gripping and emotionally rich novel of passion and revenge.
“A marvel of gorgeous yet economical prose, in the service of a story that’s utterly heartbreaking yet pierced by humor, with a plot that retains considerable subtlety even as the original’s back story falls neatly into place.”—
The New York Times Book Review
Felix is at the top of his game as artistic director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival. Now he’s staging a
Tempest
like no other: not only will it boost his reputation, but it will also heal emotional wounds. Or that was the plan. Instead, after an act of unforeseen treachery, Felix is living in exile in a backwoods hovel, haunted by memories of his beloved lost daughter, Miranda. And also brewing revenge, which, after twelve years, arrives in the shape of a theatre course at a nearby prison.
Margaret Atwood’s novel take on Shakespeare’s play of enchantment, retribution, and second chances leads us on an interactive, illusion-ridden journey filled with new surprises and wonders of its own.
Praise for
Hag-Seed
“What makes the book thrilling, and hugely pleasurable, is how closely Atwood hews to Shakespeare even as she casts her own potent charms, rap-composition included. . . . Part Shakespeare, part Atwood,
is a most delicate monster—and that’s ‘delicate’ in the 17th-century sense. It’s delightful.”
—
Boston Globe
“Atwood has designed an ingenious doubling of the plot of
The Tempest
: Felix, the usurped director, finds himself cast by circumstances as a real-life version of Prospero, the usurped Duke. If you know the play well, these echoes grow stronger when Felix decides to exact his revenge by conjuring up a new version of
designed to overwhelm his enemies.”
Washington Post
“A funny and heartwarming tale of revenge and redemption . . .
is a remarkable contribution to the canon.
”—Bustle