| Lady Macbeth: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Susan Fraser King
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 126116
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 0307341747
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780307341747
ASIN: 0307341747
Publication Date: February 12, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Recycled Library Edition
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Product Description
I amgranddaughter 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 thenrealizes 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.
From towering crags tomisted moors and formidable fortresses, Lady Macbeth transports readers to the heart of eleventh-century Scotland, painting a bold, vivid portrait of a woman much maligned by history.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Lady Macbeth is a wonderful read October 9, 2008
Forever etched in memory as a villain by Shakespeare's play, the wife of the Scots King Macbeth is redeemed by Susan Fraser King's portrayal in Lady Macbeth. The author breathes new life into the character of Lady Gruadh, nicknamed Rue in her childhood and relies heavily on historical details to flesh out the life of one of Scotland's most enigmatic and maligned queens.
From Gruadh's tragic beginnings, with the deaths of her siblings and mother, to her ill-fated first marriage, her ties to the Scottish crown weigh heavily upon her. Treachery abounds in the land as Vikings from the north, Saxons from the south and other Scottish lords set their sights on the crown. Union with the chieftain Gilcomgan of Moray places Gruadh at the center of conflict between her husband and Macbeth, who will do anything to regain his ancestral home at Moray. When Gilcomgan dies tragically in a fire, Gruadh marries Macbeth, despite knowing in her heart that he made her a widow and left her newborn son Lulach fatherless. She recognizes Macbeth's true ambitions and despises him, but in time, Gruadh comes to understand her role in his life and in Scottish history. Through further tragedy and betrayal, Gruadh and Macbeth scale the heights of power in their quest to unite Scotland against its enemies.
I highly recommend Lady Macbeth to readers of historical fiction, lovers of Scottish history and those who want to be transported on an engrossing journey to the past. Ms. King truly brings to life a time where kings and queens shaped the destiny of their countries through intrigue and skilled maneuvering. The historical detail is rich, with well-known figures interspersed among a myriad of characters. In her portrayal of Lady Gruadh, King strips away the myths and legends surrounding a woman much maligned by history to reveal a queen who was foremost, a dutiful mother and a true partner to her husband.
 Loved this book September 25, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just finished this book and WOW, what a great historical.
The writing was so smooth, the details about 11th-century Scotland so interesting that I was sad to see the book end.
Wonderful.... August 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is flawless.
King takes an overlooked and maligned historical figure and brings her to life within the pages of this novel. Not since "The Mists of Avalon" have I been so entranced with a book.
Her writing reads like on long lyrical poem and takes the reader on a journey that goes far beyond Shakespeare's Lady MacBeth.
This is a book to treasure and read over and over again.
Good summer read! July 28, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was recommended by a friend that toured Scotland with me a few years ago. Very rich in history and well developed characters. It was fun to remember visiting the same areas that were visited in the book. I would highly recommend this book.
Has all the right elements but lacks a certain spark, this book is good but not great. Only moderately recommended May 23, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
In 11th Century Scotland, the Princess Bodhe and the young Macbeth are equal heirs to the throne of Scotland--but the current king is intent on breaking tradition and passing the throne directly to his son. Through politics and violence--including the murder of Bodhe's husband--Macbeth and Bodhe marry. Lady Macbeth comes to love Macbeth, and together they begin to battle for their right to rule Scotland. This is Lady Macbeth's story, told from her point of view, and it is a historical fiction, based on significant research and intended to represent the true events that lie behind the myth that we know today. Aptly researched and written, with a strong (although sometimes anachronistic) protagonist, a bit of political intrigue, a bit of violence, and a touch of magic, Lady Macbeth has all the right qualities to be intelligent and interesting, but it lacks the special spark that would take this good book and make it great. Moderately recommended.
In some ways, Lady Macbeth is reminiscent of Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon--but with one major difference. Both books are historical fictions that are based on a wealth of research but use more than enough artistic elaboration to create coherent and interesting narratives. Both include a slight element of magic (more explicit in Mists but present in Lady Macbeth as well) which is mostly based on historical beliefs and lends the book a sense of gravitas. Both change the focus of a familiar story from the male protagonists we expect to strong female protagonists instead. However, Mist of Avalon is a striking book, but Lady Macbeth is not, and here lies the difference: Mists has a certain spark that Lady Macbeth lacks. So while the right ingredients are present, Lady Macbeth lacks that special something that makes a book greater than the sum of its parts. It is competent and even good, but the book never quite manages to be great.
King's writing style is somewhat slow, focusing on Bodhe's youth and her daily life as well as the action of the plot, but the pace never drags. The writing has a similar gentle, almost romantic, tone despite the frequent violence, and together these aspects almost dampen the impact of the book. However, the writing is apt and shows attention and skill. The elements of the plot--from realistic character motivations and backstory, to Bodhe's independence and strength (on a side note: she is sometimes so independent that she is anachronistic, exceeding the bounds of her gender and her time period to a degree that she stops being strong and becomes almost unbelievable; on the whole, however, her refusal to take a back seat to her husband is admirable) to a political plot based on elements of historical fact--makes for a complex and compelling story that does seem like a viable piece of history and the basis for the fable of Macbeth that we know now, including Shakespeare's play. By all accounts this is a good book, interesting and readable, an uncommon glimpse of Scottish history and a realistic story of one strong woman's life.
However, the book never quite sweeps the reader away. Bodhe is admirable but never inspiring. The history is realistic but never quite real. The story is well paced and build up, but never epic. However promising its qualities and however good the book, Lady Macbeth is not great, not compelling, not memorable. For readers interested in the concept, the Macbeths, or Scottish historical fiction this may be a good read, but it is a book to borrow rather than buy because it has no reread potential. Likewise, as the book never quite manages to rise to the level of greatness, I recommend Lady Macebeth only moderately.
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