The Testaments and Beyond

Atwood's 2019 sequel The Testaments, written partly in response to the political climate following 2016, won the Booker Prize and expanded the world of Gilead through three narrators including Aunt Lydia herself. The Hulu television adaptation starring Elisabeth Moss became a cultural phenomenon, its imagery of red cloaks and white bonnets appearing at real political protests worldwide. The Handmaid's Tale has become the reference point for every debate about reproductive rights, religious fundamentalism, and authoritarian creep.