LADY MACBETH

Author: Susan Fraser King ISBN: 9780307341747 3/2008 HISTORICAL FICTION Publisher: CROWN
Time Period: Medieval - 1025 - 1058

I am granddaughter to a king and daughter to a prince, a wife twice over, a queen as well. I have fought with sword and bow, and struggled fierce to bear my babes into this world. I have loved deeply and hated deeply, too. Lady Gruadh, called Rue, is the last female descendent of Scotland’s most royal line. Married to a powerful northern lord, she is widowed while still carrying his child and forced to marry her husband’s murderer: a rising war-lord named Macbeth. Encountering danger from Vikings, Saxons, and treacherous Scottish lords, Rue begins to respect the man she once despised—and then realizes that Macbeth’s complex ambitions extend beyond the borders of the vast northern region. Among the powerful warlords and their steel-games, only Macbeth can unite Scotland—and his wife’s royal blood is the key to his ultimate success. Determined to protect her small son and a proud legacy of warrior kings and strong women, Rue invokes the ancient wisdom and secret practices of her female ancestors as she strives to hold her own in a warrior society. Finally, side by side as the last Celtic king and queen of Scotland, she and Macbeth must face the gathering storm brought on by their combined destiny.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I've long been a fan of Susan King's works as a romance writer. Now, as Susan Fraser King, she writes a more richly detailed, darker and graphic tale about one little known queen and her place in the power struggle over the medieval lands of Scotland. LADY MACBETH is not your Shakespeare's Macbeth, as Ms. King hurriedly points out, but is a much more enriched and fleshed out tale based upon what little historical evidence there is pertaining to the real Macbeth and his queen. Ms. King has really done her homework here, and it shows.

Lady Macbeth tells her own tale in this book and it's some pretty powerful reading. She's very aware of who she is and the status her birthright and lineage gives her. A pawn between men greedy for power and control, King pictures her as a courageous woman, a sort of left over Celtic woman warrior whose hard life during such a violent time and the sorrows she must bear only prove to make her stronger, wiser, and more resilient in all that she faces. This is a woman who speaks her mind, stands her ground when she can, even though her rights and choices are few, and is faced with trials and tribulations that would be unimaginable in today's world.

While I really liked this book and it was extremely well written, it was a bit daunting to read, at times. I don't do well reading Gaelic names and words, even with a glossary and pronunciation key to assist me, which thankfully King does provide in the back of the book. My reading slows as I stumble through them, which tends to take away from my reading rhythm and sometimes confuse the storyline. Bottom line—LADY MACBETH can be some pretty heavy reading if you let it be.

However, if you can get past the names and unfamiliar words to focus on the content and the people themselves, then LADY MACBETH becomes a fascinating, well written and complex character study fans of historical fiction will be sure to enjoy.

Nancy Davis