Margaret Atwood, The Testaments

Valentina Romanzi (Universita di Bergamo)

Ed. by Sean Seeger, University of Essex
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.1.2: Canadian Writing and Culture (Anglophone): The Twentieth Century and beyond, 1900-present.
Vol. editors: Sarah Henzi (Simon Fraser University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Glen Nichols (Mount Allison University), Wendy Roy (University of Saskatchewan), Denis Salter (McGill University), Karis Shearer (University of British Columbia)

Dates

First circulation or publication Sep 2019

Places

Canada (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel
Utopian / Dystopian

Resources

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The Testaments

is the sequel to Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel

The Handmaid’s Tale

, a classic of dystopian literature recently adapted into a TV series (2017-) by streaming service Hulu. Published worldwide on September 10, 2019,

The Testaments

elicited an enthusiastic response from the public. Bookstores organised popular launch events and fans attended dressed in Gileadean outfits. On the evening of the launch, Atwood was interviewed by Samira Ahmed at the Royal Theatre in London, with actresses Lily James, Sally Hawkins, and Ann Dowd reading excerpts from the novel. In an unprecedented promotional choice for a novel, the event was broadcast live to cinemas all over the world.

The Testaments

confirmed its success by selling over 500,000 copies worldwide in less than a week and by…

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3416 words

Citation: Romanzi, Valentina. "The Testaments". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 December 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38988, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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Margaret Atwood, The Testaments

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