The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative fiction,written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1985. Set in the near future, in a totalitarian Christian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government, The Handmaid's Tale explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain agency. The novel's title was inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which is a series of connected stories ('The Merchant's Tale', 'The Parson's Tale', etc.).