Most people here know I’m an English teacher, an avid fan of Shakespeare (we have the same birthday), and an even bigger fan of Scotland (a Caledonophile). So when my sister-in-law gifted me Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid, I put it at the top of my TBR pile.
And it doesn’t disappoint.
Shipped from Breizh to the blustry climes of Scotland in the middle of the eleventh century, Roscille is marched up, through Birnam Wood (yeah, that very famous forest – the one that “marches”), and into the castle at Glammis. She’s been promised to the Thane of Glammis, the Lord Macbeth.
Now, here’s a sidenote. And it’s something that I only recently learned while reading Queen Macbeth, a book gifted to me by my mother-in-law. The real Lady Macbeth was actually named Gruoch (pronounced groo-OKH , according to the history books. (I know, you’re trying to puzzle out why you’ve never heard that before. But, really, can you imagine Shakespeare forcing his audience to suffer through that pronunciation a hundred times throughout his play? No, you can’t.) So, you can imagine my puzzlement when I read the name Roscille in Reid’s book. But I digress…(and I’ll come back to this tidbit later…promise).
Roscille is a young beauty, her skin translucent, her hair as white and lustrous as a unicorn’s mane. In fact, her beauty is uncanny. There are rumors: she’s been witch-kissed. No man can meet her gaze without being ensorcelled. But Macbeth is no stranger to witches. No, he actually seeks them out, leans on their prophecies to embolden his claims to Cawdor and later all of Scotland. And Roscille, a witch-kissed and clever woman fits nicely into his arsenal.
What follows in Reid’s book is a reimagining of Shakespeare’s famous Scottish play, one that puffs up Macbeth’s hubris and strengthens Roscille’s resolve to survive, to avoid being easily snuffed out by Banquo, Fleance, or even her own husband. Read this book and envision how Shakespeare’s witchy woman, Lady Macbeth, becomes the woman she is, and then marvel at how Reid weaves Gruoch into Lady Macbeth’s web. (See what I did there? I fulfilled my promise to come back to that sidenote. Lucky you.)
But since we’re talking real history, I also want to take a quick moment to set the record straight. Macbeth (actually named Macbethad) was a good king; he ruled over Scotland for 17 years of relative peace. So why the Scottish play? Shakespeare needed a villain, and when Banquo’s son Fleance is destined to become king (you know, the witches’ prophecy that we get in Act 1), that was where Shakespeare saw his “in”. King James I of England became Shakespeare’s patron after Queen Elizabeth’s death, and King James (formerly King James VI of Scotland) had a very famous relative – Fleance, an ancestor who was the head of the Steward / Stewart / Stuart dynasty. And King James also hated witches: two birds, one play. Way to go, Shakespeare!
Now, go get your copies of Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid and Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid. You’ll want to see how the two connect. Promise.
shelly. walston. writes. 