Has all the right elements but lacks a certain spark, this book is good but not great. Only moderately...

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	• Lady Macbeth: A Novel Susan Fraser King Crown, 2008 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good summer read!

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.

Historical Authenticity and a Compelling Story

How interesting it would have been if Shakespeare had told the truth in his play! He would have had to portray very different characters than he did. In her novel LADY MACBETH, Susan Fraser King does just that, combining detailed historical authenticity and a great, compelling story. I loved the strength of character shown in King's historical Lady Macbeth. Rue, as Lady Gruadh is called in the novel, has strong opinions, yet the reader follows the subtleties of her thinking as she changes her mind about her initial opinion of Macbeth himself, and as she acts on her beliefs and convictions with other characters throughout the story.

I also loved that almost every line in this novel reads like poetry. The writing is beautiful and evocative, and so visual that I could see in my mind everything as it transpired in the story. The author keeps the reader firmly in the world of 11th century Scotland, which takes true skill. It's historically accurate, yet in historical fiction, the strength of this story and its characters, and the quality of the writing is more important than the fascinating historical detail. King does a masterful job of blending both worlds of fiction and history.

Shakespeare invented powerful characters and bloody situations to explore dramatic themes and to meet the political needs of his time, without much attention to actual facts. Susan Fraser King gives us a complete historical perspective on Lady Macbeth, producing a wonderful, enjoyable read. Highly recommended by an avid reader of historical fiction.

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Has all the right elements but lacks a certain spark, this book is good but not great. Only moderately recommended

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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Wonderful....

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.

A very different tale of Macbeth and his lady than Shakespeare's

Lady Gruadh (Rue) is descended from one of two branches of the ancient royal line of Celtic Kings. First married against her wishes to Gilcomgan of Moray, her husband is killed in battle with Macbeth, and the pregnant Rue is married to Macbeth, Rue's pure bloodline giving him a stronger claim to the throne of Scotland. Thus begins an uneasy truce between the two as they eventually make the marriage work and Macbeth schemes to take the reign of Scotland from Duncan. Amidst the plots and treacheries of 11C Scotland, the author also works in plentiful details of Celtic myths and lifestyle as she tells Rue's story in the first person POV.

While I did enjoy this book, along with picking up some knowledge of Scottish history and the "real" Macbeth, I found this book to be slow paced at times with long periods of inaction and detailed descriptions of every day life. Although I typically don't mind a slower paced book as long as the author can fully immerse me into another century, in this case I felt like I was on the outside looking in. Rue's tale came off to this reader as a bit cold and aloof. I never felt I was a part of the story - just an interested bystander, and that is not where I want to be in a book. I also felt it too short at just over 300 pages, perhaps the characters would be been stronger and had more life if they had been fleshed out more, but that could have been the publisher's decision and not the author. We'll never know.

An entertaining and educational read about the "real" Macbeth instead of Shakespeare's version, but it's not a book I'm willing to give a five star rating to, nor one I will read more than once. If you're not sure, get it from the library first and then if you love it, buy it. Side note, there is an extensive list of characters with their full names and titles (with pronunciation) along with a glossary at the back of the book. I really wish publishers would either put these at the front of the book or tell the reader it's there in the back for my reference. Four stars.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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.

From towering crags to misted 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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