On November 28th, 2018, Margaret Atwood announced a sequel to her 1985 classic novel The Handmaid's Tale. Announcing the novel on her Twitter profile, she wrote: "Yes indeed to those who asked: I’m writing a sequel to The #HandmaidsTale. #TheTestaments is set 15 years after Offred’s final scene and is narrated by three female characters. It will be published in Sept 2019." Atwood has revealed little else of the story, other than the fact that Aunt Lydia will be one of the three aforementioned main characters (Lydia was a major character in The Handmaid's Tale, too).
Although the novel has not yet been released at the time of this writing (September 4th, 2019), most early reviewers loved the book. Among those who like the book is Alex Clark of The Guardian, remarking that "Atwood’s task in returning to the world of her best-known work was a big one, but the result is a success that more than justifies her Booker prize shortlisting." The novel is already a financial success. On Amazon, the #1 bookseller in the world, The Testaments is already a bestseller. It is very likely that the book will continue to be a bestseller weeks after release. And given the pre-release reviews, it will very likely be critically successful.
Bruce Miller, showrunner of the award-winning, Hulu-produced show based on (and called) The Handmaid's Tale, said that some effort would be made to incorporate The Testaments into his show.
