| GILEAD | Dystopian republic in which The Handmaid's Tale is set |
| ESTONIA | Northernmost of the three Baltic republics, in which the first public Christmas tree was displayed in 1441 (7) |
| MARGARET | Author of the novel from which TV's The Handmaid's Tale is adapted, _ Atwood (8) |
| WEALTHY | Why the tale is set among the rich (7) |
| SKIMMED | Read superficially, Kipling tale is set in southern sea (7) |
| LYDIA | Aunt in fire Handmaid's Tale is upsetting one lady (5) |
| EGYPT | Republic in which you will find the Valley Of The Kings |
| AFGHANISTAN | Republic in which dog is brown (11) |
| CAPEVERDE | Republic in which rebel Jack keeps quiet always |
| COSTARICA | Republic in which Castro deceiving CIA nuts (5,4) |
| THETA | The tale is cut short in the letter |
| CHAUCER | Author whose The Nun's Priest's Tale is thought to bear one of the first references to foolishness and thus is tenuously linked to April Fools' Day (7) |
| SAGA | Heroic tale is in the news again |
| ELATED | Highly pleased when the tale is revised by the editor (6) |
| RASSELAS | Name by which Samuel Johnson's 1759 novel The Prince of Abissinia: A Tale is also known |
| KRISHNA | "Black, blue, dark" charioteering flute-playing peacock-plumed Hindu deity and avatar of Vishnu, whose tale is told in the Mahabharata (7) |
| SNEAKOFF | Slink away ___ the tell-tale is leaving (5,3) |
| ALLEGORY | The symbolic tale is grisly after fifty tucked into beer (8) |
| REALTENNIS | On reflection, offender admitting dubious tale is game in court (4,6) |
| ENIGMATICAL | Extraordinary magic in tale is puzzling (11) |
