The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel set in the Republic of Gilead, a theocratic regime that has stripped women of their rights and reduced many to reproductive servitude. The story follows Offred, a “Handmaid” whose sole purpose is to bear children for elite men, exploring themes of power, gender oppression, and resistance. Its chilling portrayal of authoritarianism and the fragility of freedoms, make it a cornerstone of feminist and speculative fiction. The novel continues to resonate as a warning about the intersection of politics, religion, and control over women’s bodies.

Researching dystopian and post-apocalyptic literature and film can be sometimes difficult, because many these works have been created fairly recently and it simply takes a while before scholars write about them.

The good news, is that there are some techniques that you can use that will make it more likely to get what is out there. Get the tips: