In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian future, environmental disasters
and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil
War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a
totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and
enslaves the few remaining fertile women. At once a scathing
satire, an ominous warning, and a tour de force of narrative
suspense, The Handmaid’s Tale is a modern classic.