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person1939–

Margaret Atwood

Disciplines:
fiction
science fiction/dystopia
canada

Summary

Canadian novelist and poet — author of The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, and The Blind Assassin — the most decorated and widely read Canadian novelist — who created the modern feminist dystopia.

Core Contribution

Creates the feminist dystopia — The Handmaid's Tale's speculative framework (theocratic patriarchy that instrumentalizes women's bodies) is the most politically resonant feminist dystopia; the novel's Hulu adaptation (2017–) became the cultural reference point for reproductive rights debates.

Notable Works & Achievements

The Handmaid's Tale

Alias Grace

The Blind Assassin

Oryx and Crake

The Testaments

MaddAddam trilogy

Historical Influences

George Orwell Ursula K. Le Guin Adrienne Rich

Intellectual Lineage

OttawaVictoria College, University of TorontoRadcliffeHarvard The Edible WomanThe Handmaid's Tale

Contemporaries & Peers

Ursula K. Le Guin Doris LessingCarol Shields

Minds Influenced

Feminist dystopia genre

Intellectual Posterity

The Handmaid's Tale The Testaments Alias Grace The Blind Assassin Atwood

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Margaret Atwood

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