Summary, Analysis, and Review of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale PLEASE NOTE: This is a key takeaways and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Start Publishing Notes' Summary, Analysis, and Review of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale includes a summary of the book, review, analysis & key takeaways, and detailed About the Author section. PREVIEW: In an alternative version of America, a neo-conservative, alt-right type terrorist group took over in a coup -- they shot the President, machine-gunned the Congress, got the army to declare a state of emergency, instituted martial law, suspended the Constitution, and instilled a totalitarian theocracy. Although this group claimed their taking over was only temporary, America became the Republic of Gilead. And because they were able to blame a worldwide fertility crisis (in which babies had a one-in-four chance of being born with deformities that would make them unable to survive outside the womb), the Gileadean regime was able to reverse women