Queen Macbeth
Val McDermid
122 pages
Grove Atlantic
Published September 24, 2024
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Queen Macbeth is a novella-length re-imagining of the story of Shakespeare’s second most famous duo – but based on the known history of the real 11th century Scottish king of that name. Told by his wife in two timelines, Gruoch is no longer a scheming villainess, but instead a brave woman trying to survive after losing the man she loves with her three companions who are not witches but wise women. I did Macbeth at school, but never either “got” or enjoyed Shakespeare until adulthood, and I couldn’t remember much of the plot, not ever having seen it as a play or movie, but a quick refresher (thanks internet) meant I could instantly see how much the plot diverges from that of the play – this is way more Outlander than Elizabethan tragedy.
Four years after King Macbeth was killed at the battle Lumphanan, Gruoch and her lifelong friends Eithne, Aife and Ligath are in hiding at a remote monastery by Loch Leven, but forces loyal to King Malcolm are closing in, and they must flee for their lives. Gruoch reminisces about how she met the handsome redheaded warrior when she was still married to her first husband, and fell hopelessly in love.
While this does use lots of traditional Scots words (there is a glossary at the end – why don’t publishers put them at the beginning – or at least tell you at the beginning that there is one?!) it’s surprisingly easy to read. I had fun with the various nods to Shakespeare that I did recognise – I’m sure those more familiar with the play will recognise more. My main complaint is that this could easily have been a full length novel, but other than this I really liked it.
NB it’s worth looking at Wikipedia for an explanation of why Shakespeare’s version is so different!
Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC.
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