The Handmaid's Tale
Canadian novelist, born 1939. Won the Booker Prize in 2000 and 2019.
The Handmaid's Tale is a 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1986.
On 7 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Margaret Atwood
- First published
- 1985
- Length
- 324 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- Booker Prize shortlist, 1986
- Genre
- Science fiction, Dystopian, Feminist
- Series
- Book 1 of The Handmaid's Tale
Is The Handmaid's Tale worth reading?
7 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian) and The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.co.uk, 2014) | Listed | See the list |
| 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009) | No. 53 | See the list |
| Booker Prize (winners and shortlists) (Booker Prize Foundation, 1986) | Shortlist | See the list |
| Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 41 | See the list |
| The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 36 | See the list |
| The Big Jubilee Read (BBC Arts and The Reading Agency, 2022) | Listed | See the list |
| The Great American Read (PBS, 2018) | Listed | See the list |
Best edition of The Handmaid's Tale
The edition we link to is the Vintage paperback (1996), 324 pages.
- Publisher
- Vintage (paperback, 1996)
- Pages
- 324
- ISBN
- 9780099740919
How critics, prizes and readers rate The Handmaid's Tale
Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 67% of the points available on prize lists, against 56% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 21% on critics' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like The Handmaid's Tale
If you liked The Handmaid's Tale, try The Testaments, Oryx and Crake or The Blind Assassin.
