Sadly ,I've had to do a soft dnf for now and come back to the book in the future. I think the writing was very good. Based on what I've read so far I would still recommend this to people I know would love this type of story.

I love Shakespeare's play, but this book was just as good. A great novella, perfect for a long evening.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Like many I was only familiar with the Shakespeare Play. In this historical novel the author writes the story from the women's point of view, esp Lady MacBeth's. It is very well written. Enjoy

I really enjoyed this retelling of the Macbeth story, firmly placing the events within the historical context of the time and focusing on Gruoch, the eponymous Queen. I liked the way perspective shifted within the narrative between the present day events as Gruoch runs for her life following Macbeth's defeat and into the past, detailing how Macbeth and Gruoch first met. I thought the writing was compelling and although this is a short novella, it never felt rushed and the story was fully realised. Overall, a great read that I would definitely recommend to any fans of the Shakespearean tale as a very interesting alternative.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid is a historical novella that provides more historically accurate information about Queen Grouch and her closest female companions.

This retelling of Shakespeare’s classic centers on the power of the female. This narrative alternates timelines: Queen Grouch unhappily married to Gille Coemgáin and her passion for Coemgáin’s cousin, Macbeth, and her life after being married to Macbeth. Grouch, who is of royal blood in her own right, married Gille Coemgáin, proclaiming himself as King of Scotland. Meeting Macbeth, she falls in love and conspires to become pregnant with his child. However, the love triangle lacks development. These parts of the book are only memories Grouch has while in her present life, on the run with her lifelong female confidantes: Ligach, good with animals and skilled with a spindle; Aife, the baker; and Eithne, a seer and knowledge of herbs. During this timeline, Grouch becomes a strong-willed, determined survivor after the death of Macbeth. While the story follows these four women and Angus, Macbeth’s longstanding man, the reader doesn’t know these women, which is the plot’s heart. This reader would have enjoyed more about the women and what made them who they are in the present plotline. Another question raised is how Grouch’s memories connect to her present. Having more female backstories would improve the plot and characters.

This book is for fans of medieval history with a touch of mystery and the bond of female friendship.

Thank you, Grove Atlantic, for providing me with an advanced DRC book for review via NetGalley. Please note this is my unbiased review, and all my opinions are mine.

Publication Date: September 24, 2024
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'Queen Macbeth' is a retelling of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' with a focus upon the lady with blood-stained hands. In her introduction McDermid speaks about how little is known of the actual historical background of the tale and that this gives her the liberty to add and invent. I fully support that! I did very much enjoy the focus on Lady Macbeth, here known as Gruoch and how, especially through the flashbacks, McDermid creates a life for her that is not merely depended on Macbeth. She infuses Gruoch's tale with female friendship and magic, making her a more independent figure than we sometimes get to see her as. The story "proper" takes place when Gruoch and her three friends are in hiding after the events of the play, but this is interspersed with frequent flashbacks that show us her life before, her meeting with Macbeth, and what happens after his death. I thought the prose was lovely and painted a good picture of 11th century Scotland. As a novella, 'Queen Macbeth' is short and therefore it might not be as worked out as readers might want. It is a brief look at a figure that McDermid was clearly interested by, but it is not an in-depth novelisation of the play. As long as you go into it with that awareness, you'll have a grand time!

3.25 Stars

I definitely recommend revisiting Shakespeare’s Macbeth before reading this novella or at least have a good understanding of it. McDermid’s retelling is short but does not lack substance. I love when we get a more fleshed out character (particularly the women) in a retelling of a classic. Added bonus here for the more historically accurate story as well.

This book felt like a middle-of-the-road read for me. While it had some interesting aspects, it fell short in fully exploring the characters and the plot surrounding Lady Macbeth. That said, it was a quick and easy read, and I did enjoy the heartfelt bond between Macbeth and her companions.

*Thank you to Val McDermid, ​​Grove Atlantic | Atlantic Monthly Press and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

I usually love books that are based on retellings of classic tales, but this one fell quite flat for me. I’ll start with what I love about this book. The cover was beautiful with the red and gold eye catching. The flashback scenes were okay and definitely better than the present story.
Now what I didn’t like about this book. Even though this book is a novella, it felt like it didn’t have much of a plot. We know the characters are on the run, but other than that we don’t know anything else. The characters felt almost as if the author didn’t understand them with them being very similar to each other. The problem with retellings is you must understand the characters you are reimaging, and this author clearly didn’t. This author thinks she’s better than Shakespeare and let me tell you, she is definitely not. I would call this fan fiction but I’m under the impression that the author isn’t a Shakespeare fan.
Normally if I don’t like a book I still urge you to read the book to make your own opinions but with this book I recommend skipping it.

In this brilliant historical fiction retelling starring one of the greatest Shakespearan villains, Val McDermid brings Lady Macbeth and the incredibly patriarchal Scottish society from a millennia ago to life in this fascinating reimagining of the iconic tragedy. As a queen, not just a noblewoman, this fascinatingly passionate and tragic tale gives this powerful woman a life before and after the events of Shakespeare’s play and her marriage to King Macbeth. Joined by three loyal companions as she deals with the power politics and their aftermath in this period of Scottish history, this retelling is short but incredibly powerful and exciting. McDermid does not waste a single word or page in this novel, and she invokes powerful emotions and actions in every moment. Giving this incredible woman the chance to tell her own story and exert her agency and power, Lady Macbeth is far more than a mere murderess in this incredible novel. With an incredible timeline and some fascinatingly high stakes and some twists in the narrative, McDermid’s novel is complex, immersive, powerful, and fascinating. A brilliant retelling of a classic play, this Lady Macbeth is powerful, complex, and cunning, and fans of other mythology and classic literature retellings will love this novel.

Queen Macbeth is a story about the fight for safety and the ability to love who we will as women, for the right to find and build a home of our own choosing and live out our days in peace. At its core is an extremely feminist retelling of a story that is very well known that adds more background to the female players that in Macbeth skirt the background and while having some of the most well-known scenes are the least known for who they are.

I enjoyed the prose and simpler yet confident writing style that was at the forefront of this novel, with the prose being striking yet easy to read and follow for the plot. The main group of four women all felt fully fleshed out, as did Macbeth and Angus, with other men being the easy to spot villains in the novel yet still feeling like reflections of real men. The time jumps well initially surprising were extremely well executed and easy to follow throughout the novel, with the style on the page of the font changing, but no true additional markers to signify the change.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys:
- Historical Retellings
- History from women's point of view
- Darker novels that lean gothic
- Novel about women's relationships and friendships

I received an advance review copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.

This was just really boring to me. I had read Macbeth in high school and assumed I’d be okay enough to read this without a refresher. I was wrong, and was still more confused even after rereading a summary. This seemed to be post- the fictional events from Shakespeare’s play or the real events we were supposed to told but with no context as to what really happened. There were somehow assumptions we’d know even though the author promised that Shakespeare’s story was wrong and we’d get closer to the truth through this. I really just found myself wanting to finish it to get any answers and was still kind of disappointed once I found them.

Excellent book, love it! Looking forward to more from this author! Apologies for the lateness of my review

Lady Macbeth's tale is in the most capable hands in this incredible reimagining of her story. The intrigue builds as we explore what life was like after Macbeth's death.

I usually love Shakespeare retellings. Shakespeare's writing is so poignant and beautiful so deep and emotional! So when I saw this story of Queen Macbeth after King Macbeth's death I was really looking forward to it!

I had a hard time reading this. For it being a short novella I thought it'd be a fast read. It took me almost a whole month and a half to read. The writing stagnant and confusing. It did more telling than showing and so it read like a text book of a story in history. I guess that's what it was but I had no feelings about any of the characters, I didn't care when horrible things happened or when they died. I didn't care when good things happened. I just didn't care! For a character driven novella I knew nothing about them and even got confused on who was who when they had dialog they all sounded like the same person!

Overall I really just did not gel with this book! But I would recommend for people who enjoy history and Scotland the description of the land and everyday lives of the people were beautiful!

this is an excellent unpredictable read! A real page turner, filled with tragic and haunting pages, a very entertaining book! A must read!

I wasn't crazy about this one. It was little hard to follow. I wasn't sure the roles of all the women at first. The audio made it more understandable.

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid is a gripping and adventurous tale that kept me guessing. I love a good story featuring strong, complex female characters with a historical connection and the nods and underlying criticisms of Shakespeare added a compelling take. If you like historical fiction and feminist retellings, I recommend you check this one out!

As a theatre person, I always get a kick out of retellings of shakespeare, and this was no exception. Getting a fun twist on lady Macbeth? Count me in! Definetly reccomending this to my peers

The Darkland Tales are a series of books that reinterpret stories from Scottish history, myth and legend in a modern way. The latest book in the series, Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid, tells the story of Lady Macbeth. In Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth', Lady Macbeth is a scheming ambitious woman who encourages her husband to kill King Duncan so Macbeth can become king. Macbeth turns into a cruel murderous monarch and it all comes to a bad end.

McDermid's novella about Lady Macbeth (whose given name is Gruoch) is different, and somewhat speculative. In an author's note, McDermid notes that we don't really know what happened in Scotland at the end of the tenth century because very few people had access to ink and paper, and "those who did were more inclined towards copying religious texts than writing the medieval version of a blog."

However, some things are known about the real Macbeth and his lady, and McDermid uses the facts to fashion her story.

Queen Macbeth's tale is told in two alternating timelines:

In the earlier timeline, written in italics, Gruoch's father has married her off to Gille Coemgáin, the King of Moray. Gruoch has been permitted to bring along her three women companions, Eithne - a seer and herbalist; Aife - a companion and baker; and Ligath - a weaver and beekeeper.

Gruoth doesn't love (or even like) her husband Gille, a coarse man whose sole interest in Gruoth is getting her pregnant. Gruoth comments, "It's true there was not much to love about Gille. He lived to eat and drink well, and that had coarsened the good looks he'd been blessed with. There was no tenderness in him; he was uncaring and rough, always putting his own needs and desires first."

Thus when Gille's charismatic cousin Macbeth comes for a visit, Gruoth is immediately taken with him. Gille observes, "The first time I set eyes on Macbeth, I knew he was the very pattern of manhood.....although he was a little lower in rank than the man I was wedded to, he seemed more like a lord than Gille Coemgáin." Macbeth's red hair, blazing blue eyes, handsome face, and lively dancing capture Gille's heart, and the attraction is mutual.

Gruoch and Macbeth fall in love, engage in houghmagandie (sex), and maintain a mostly long-distance relationship - being careful not to excite Gille's suspicions. Eventually, Macbeth hatches a scheme to kill Gille, and Macbeth and Gruoth marry and become king and queen of Moray. Macbeth and Gruoch rule benevolently for seventeen years, until Macbeth is mortally wounded in battle. With Macbeth gone, and King Malcolm ascended to the throne of Scotland, Gruoth and her companions, along with Macbeth's man Angus - who's sworn to protect the ladies - run for their lives.

*****

In the later timeline, written in plain text, Gruoch, her three women friends, and their protector Angus are on the lam, trying to evade King Malcolm's minions. If the fugitives are caught, they'll be killed.

The exiles hide out in a monastery for four years, until they're discovered by their foes. The refugees manage to escape, and make a mad dash for the Isle of Mull, where they'll be protected by Macbeth's allies. Unfortunately, Gruoch and her retinue run into big trouble along the way. Do they get away? You'll have to read the novella to find out.

The book is chock full of suspense, danger, and death, as would be expected in a novella by renowned mystery writer Val McDermid. McDermid tells the tale in medieval vernacular, but it's easy to understand. Moreover, a helpful glossary is included. I'll give some examples of archaic words:

barley bree - a primitive form of whiskey
birlinn - a small galley or longboat
bleezing - bragging
cac-shiubhal - diarrhea
dugs - breasts
jessies - cowardly males
Mormaer - leader, ruler
pintle - penis
ramsons - wild garlic
Slàinte mhath - a toast meaning good health

I enjoyed this alternative tale about Lady Macbeth and highly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley, Val McDermid, and Grove Atlantic for a copy of the book.