In Gilead, women’s lives are controlled by a regime that has stripped them of their former identities and freedoms. Offred serves in a Commander’s household, where her role is defined by the state’s demands. Memories of her earlier life remain a private source of longing and resistance.

Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel follows the small negotiations and dangerous choices through which Offred tries to preserve herself. It examines the relationship between political power, language and bodily autonomy. This is the English-language Vintage Classics paperback edition.