Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace

What is Alias Grace?

Alias Grace is a fictionalized retelling of 16 year old Grace Marks, a maid who was convicted as an accessory to the murder of her employer Thomas Kinnear and fellow maid, Nancy Montgomery (Gzowski 5:37), in Canada West, 1843 (now Ontario). The novel is told through both fictional and non-fictional recounts, leading readers through various perspectives, resulting in different conclusions about the “truth” of what happened.

Margaret Atwood was inspired by Life in the Clearings versus the Bush by Susanna Moodie, whom wrote about seeing Grace in Kingston Penitentiary, and retold the murders from Grace’s coworker and accomplice, James McDermott’s perspective (3:16-3:39). Moodie framed Grace as the instigator, which Atwood saw as “theatrical,” and “it bothered [her] that it was so neat” (4:23-4:33). Atwood claimed she felt there was “something wrong with the story,” (Gzowski 8:18) which inspired her to write the events from Grace’s perspective.

Alias Grace is Atwood’s 9th novel and has won the Canadian Giller Prize. In 2017, the novel was adapted into a Netflix miniseries.

Who is Margaret Atwood?

Margaret Atwood is a globally-known, Ottawa-born Canadian author of over 50 novels; although her creative projects extend to graphic novels, poetry, theater, and television scripts. Atwood has graduated with her masters from Radcliffe College, and has worked at institutions such as the University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, and New York University. Other popular works of hers include The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin, and Cat’s Eye.