The Handmaid's Tale

<p><strong>** THE <em>SUNDAY TIMES</em> NO. 1 BESTSELLER **</strong><br /><br /><strong>Discover the dystopian novel that started a phenomenon before you read the Booker Prize-winning sequel The Testaments</strong><br /><br /><strong>NOW AN AWARD-WINNING TV SERIES STARRING ELISABETH MOSS</strong><br /><br />Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford - her assigned name, Offred, means 'of Fred'. She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire. As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.<br /><br />Masterfully conceived and executed, this haunting vision of the future places Margaret Atwood at the forefront of dystopian fiction.</p>