Margaret Atwood, the writer of The Handmaid’s Tale, which has been turned into a mega-successful Emmy-award-winning Hulu TV series starring Elisabeth Moss, has announced her sequel to the 1985 cult classic novel.
In a message, Atwood wrote: 'Dear Readers, everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book.
'Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in.'
Because, while we don’t know a hell of a lot about where Gilead will be 15 years on from whereThe Handmaid’s Tale left off, in the time since the release of the first book, geopolitical attitudes towards women have changed, but not wholesale, and change, as the original book outlines, can be undone. The Handmaid’s Tale’s symbolism can now be spotted in the anti-Trump protests, and the nastiest facts of the book - all taken from real-life situations - still resonate today with legions of women - and men - fed up with the traditional ways in which women’s bodies and behaviours are policed.
As a dystopic writer, it seems unlikely that Atwood will write a book all about the happy-ever-after of Gilead, so just take a big look around you to see the nasty ways in which women, globally, are treated under the patriarchy, to get an idea of what the book’s going to look like. Not exactly an easy piece of chick-lit, whatever that is these days.
Though Atwood didn't name Donald Trump, the press release did, saying the story has become 'a symbol of the movement against him, standing for female empowerment and resistance in the face of misogyny and the rolling back of women's rights around the world'.
One thing we know for sure is that The Testaments will be released on 10th September 2019 - one for your brand-spanking new diaries! - and will aim to put to rest 33 years of unanswered questions.