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Lady Macbeth: A Novel
Lady Macbeth: A Novel
Lady Macbeth: A Novel
Audiobook10 hours

Lady Macbeth: A Novel

Written by Susan Fraser King

Narrated by Wanda McCaddon

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

"I am a 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. I know embroidery and hawks and kingship, and more magic than I should admit."

Lady Gruadh, called Rue, is the last female descendant 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 warlord 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 staunch fortresses, Lady Macbeth transports readers to the heart of eleventh-century Scotland, painting a bold, vivid portrait of a woman much maligned by history.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 17, 2008
ISBN9781400176151
Lady Macbeth: A Novel

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Reviews for Lady Macbeth

Rating: 3.8118810574257425 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A fictional retelling of the MacBeth story, from the point of view of MacBeth. This story reflects the historical record, according to the author, but does not mesh with Shakespeare's play. This story presents a less villainous MacBeth couple and a less saintly Duncan. The story starts much earlier in time, and traces events through the life of Lady MacBeth, ending a year after the death of MacBeth. An interesting, easy to read story, perhaps with a bit too much of the Gaelic sense at times for the average lay reader. This could perhaps have been avoided a bit by making the story third person instead of first person; for Lady MacBeth to stop the story to explain herself more than she did might have broken the flow (and did break the flow when she did).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If you are looking for a novelized version of Shakespeare's extraordinary Scottish Play, this is not it. This is a novel about the actual king Macbeth and queen Rue. Based on the Annals of Ulster and other sources, we withness Gruadh's life from a young age to the age of forty. Through her, we experience the constant battles for the control over Scotland, and the importance of the brave warrior Macbeth, the man who has passed from history into legend.

    Elements of folklore are blended into the story, casting an otherwordly light over the fates of the characters, and the sacred places of Iona and Scone become alive through King's pen. Having had the fortune to visit them some years ago during a trip to Scotland and Ireland, I can say that her prose does justice to the intense feeling that these two places provoke to the visitor.

    Susan Fraser King shows, once again, that she is one of the best representatives of how powerful Historical fiction is, when done right.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book. It has been well researched and the characters were well fleshed out. Having read (and love) Shakespeare's Macbeth many times, I greatly enjoyed reading a story that was more realistic than the play. One understood that sometimes harsh decisions had to be made in such violent times.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A well-written historical fiction novel about Lady Macbeth's path to becoming queen of Scotland. The plot line dragged a little and probably would only earn a 3 star rating, but the historical descriptions bumped the rating up. King's descriptions of Celtic traditions and the world of warriors and thanes were excellent.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A fictional retelling of the MacBeth story, from the point of view of MacBeth. This story reflects the historical record, according to the author, but does not mesh with Shakespeare's play. This story presents a less villainous MacBeth couple and a less saintly Duncan. The story starts much earlier in time, and traces events through the life of Lady MacBeth, ending a year after the death of MacBeth. An interesting, easy to read story, perhaps with a bit too much of the Gaelic sense at times for the average lay reader. This could perhaps have been avoided a bit by making the story third person instead of first person; for Lady MacBeth to stop the story to explain herself more than she did might have broken the flow (and did break the flow when she did).
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    After reading Queen Hereafter by Susan Fraser King, I wasn't that excited about her. I thought it was a decent novel, but I wasn't exactly going to run out and buy her next book right there. In fact, I never would have picked up Lady Macbeth if I hadn't found it on super clearance at Half Price Books during their 20 percent off everything sale (so, I got it for virtually no money). And it's been sitting on my bookshelf for a while, because I kept passing it up for something of greater interest. Most just because I was sick of seeing it on my bookshelf, I thought it was finally time to read it. It's not like it would hurt or anything.While Lady Macbeth wasn't an amazing book, it was certainly much better than my expectations. I read through the entire book without any problems and even found that Lady Macbeth was a fascinating and strong character that I wanted to know more about. I honestly thought it was even stronger than King's follow up novel, Queen Hereafter.Lady Macbeth explores the story of the real Lady Macbeth. Not the Shakespeare one -but the one who lived in ancient times, and had royal blood. Blood so dangerous that men would kidnap her for marriage, just to use her blood ties to make a claim to the Scottish throne. After surviving a number of kidnap attempts, she becomes a fighter. But after her first marriage left her a pregnant widow, she was forced to marry her husband's murderer, the famous Macbeth, and must find a way to make a new life with him.Lady Macbeth's character is the centerpiece of this novel. Told in her strong voice, the character feels real and powerful, as well as constant throughout the novel. An honest narrator, it's easy for readers to become invested in her and her struggle and want to see her succeed -no matter the consequences. Unfortunately, this has made many of the other characters feel weaker, and, in some cases, they completely disappeared in their own scenes in favor of our willful narrator. While I wasn't completely in love with this book, it was an interesting and unexpected read about a little-known woman and her unique life.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book has no similarity to Shakespeare's play and that is what I expected it to be - the other side of the story. I got this book for Christmas 2008 and have not read it before now because I was expecting it to be a good one. Habit of mine - always keep the best things until last. Unfortunately, I was wrong.Mind you, this isn't a bad book - just not as good as I had expected. I came out of the experience liking MacBeth very well and knowing that I was supposed to like Lady MacB even more. If this had been straight historical fiction I might have done so. However, Ms. King felt compelled to lard her book heavily with a whole bunch of Celtic mystical/magical hooey. I always have a hard time with that kind of stuff and suspect that it shows up in books of this sort because the writer can't fully engage the protagonist in the really good stuff that's going on in her time period. You know the kind of stuff I mean - all the good fighting and killing and dying and suffering. Women in non-fantasy fiction get cut out of all that stuff. So, let's fill in the gap for our heroine with a lot of peering into basins of water trying to figure out the future, combing the hillsides for "special" herbs, having second sight experiences and the like while waiting for her man to come back from the wars. I know its tough on the girls left at home, but having to wallow in their witchy world is hard on this reader. Suffice it to say, for me, this book was very good when MacBeth was around, but it was less interesting when Lady MacB was at home trying to figure out what her dreams meant. And don't get me started on sword lessons for girls. Lady MacB kept telling everyone who objected that it was o.k. for her to slash around with a sword because of the long tradition of independent, fighting Celtic women, but then she didn't really do any fighting - just a way again of getting her somewhat close to the real action. I didn't buy it.A middling read for me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    How does one start a review of a book as well written and engaging as Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King? Should I start by telling the story of my high school senior English teacher who acted out the Shakespeare play Macbeth, thus starting my long obsession with the queen who desperately tries to wash blood from her hands or should I start by saying I am usually disappointed by historical fiction? How about a little of both.During my senior year we were blessed with an English teacher who secretly wanted to act. When it came time to read Shakespeare Mr. Fraser (no relation to the author) taught us how to enjoy the bard’s prose by getting on his desk as he acted out the play. Watching Mr. Fraser act out a one man sword fight is a cherished memory I hope to always keep. Lady Macbeth’s anguish over the death of King Duncan followed me through my life. I vowed I would never do something that would cause lifelong regret or sorrow. Many times in my 20s I would stop myself from doing something stupid by asking if this action would cause me to constantly want to wash it from my soul. Lady Macbeth kept me from causing myself mental scars. I never gave the person Lady Macbeth much thought, it was what she represented that stood out for me. To be honest I did not know she was a real person, I thought she and Macbeth were fictional characters or at least composites made up by Shakespeare. As I started to seriously study Irish and English medieval history I wanted to complement my studies with historical fiction. As a lifelong reader I assumed I would fall in love with this genre, but sadly I am a critic of it. Oh I have my favorites; Peter Ellis’s Brother Cadfael, and Bernard Knight’s John Crowner, but more often than not I find issue with authors who are either so busy adding description the plot is ignored or the author feels no need to describe the times in which the book is set. King weaves a tight tapestry of both plot and character. King researched both Scotland and the Macbeths; her book shows just how well she accomplished this. Lady Macbeth is the story of the last Celtic King and Queen of the Scots and the story of 11th century Scotland itself. Macbeth’s story is told as history, not as a tragedy; though I became so engrossed in their lives that the tragedy came because I knew there was only one ending to their story. The death of Macbeth was as upsetting to me as it was to Lady Macbeth as she talked of his last heroic effort to save Scotland from English rule. Other reviewers have mentioned how the voice of the Scottish queen burns off the page, yet it bares repeating. King has written a character so life like, it is as if she and King spent many long hours together. If you appreciate strong female characters who are noble in the face of adversary and are strong when necessary then you will really appreciate this book. When Macbeth kills Gruadh’s husband and takes her as his wife the book could have turned into the typical story of a man and women who dislike each other but somehow come to adore each other. King manages to write their story as it probably did happen, not how modern readers come to expect. As Gruadha rages over what has happened those around her accept it as a matter of fact. The people around her accept that Gruadha’s husband was an inept lord and that Macbeth was the better choice. Gruadha accepts her fate and the fate of her people because this was the norm. She and Macbeth slowly trust and respect each other. Though the reader is never privy to their private life, you do get the sense that these two people do love each other. As the end of the book nears it becomes harder and hard for Lady Macbeth to finish the tale as it means reliving the death of her husband. Forget what you learned about Macbeth from Shakespeare; read this book for the characters and human drama. Read the book because it is one of those rare books that remind us readers why we spend so much time curled around our couches. I have to warn you, once finish this book finding your next good read will be a challenge.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    OK, this is one I should have purchased in Hardcover rather than an audio book. The narrator was very good -with a great Scottish accent but I sometimes found my mind wandering when she began to speak too quickly. Great story though, full of adventure, betrayal, and all that Scottish blood lust stuff. Makes me proud to be a Scot!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed the first part, and then I got distracted by life. I never really got back to into the book, which I guess says something about it. But I am glad that I read it, Historical fiction is a new genre for me and because of this book I will read more.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great book! I was hooked from the very beginning! I would recommend it to anyone who loves a great historical fiction. Very amazing! One of my favorites!