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.

I wish this could be downloaded to my kindle. I can['t read it on the app. I will have to buy this one. It should be good. Great topic. Great author!

This book was alright! While it presents a different perspective from the time as Lady Macbeth falls for Macbeth and then to the aftermath of his death, it had moments that I wish could have been explained a bit more. It was pretty short so it flew by pretty fast!

When we think of the name Macbeth, we often imagine the play by William Shakespeare of a power-hungry man and his equally vicious wife willing to do whatever it took to become King and Queen of Scotland. It is a play about revenge and murder, but Shakespeare did not pull these characters out of thin air. He took these characters from the annals of history, such as a man named Macbeth and his wife, a Lady Macbeth named Gruoch. However, the names are about as much as Shakespeare gets right regarding the story of one of the first Kings of Scotland. Val McDermid tells her version of Macbeth and Gruoch’s story in her latest novel, “Queen Macbeth.”

I want to thank Atlantic Monthly Press and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. It has been a minute since I read the Shakespearean play of Macbeth, but I did know that it was a story based on history. When I saw that this was specifically about Macbeth’s wife, it was intriguing to me and I knew I wanted to give it a try.

We begin with a sense of panic and dread. Reports have reached Gruoch that her husband Macbeth was slain at the Battle of Lumphanen and now Gruoch is on the run from his enemy Malcolm. Their son, Lulach, is on his way to be crowned King of Scotland while Gruoch, her ladies (Ligach, Aife, and Eithne), and Macbeth’s man Angus wait for the opportune moment to escape the monastery they are staying in before Malcolm catches up to them.

Sprinkled inbetween events in the modern day, McDermid included flashbacks to how Macbeth and Gruoch met and fell in love. At the time of their first meeting, Gruoch was the wife of Gille Coemgain, the Mormaer of Moray. Macbeth believes that Gille was responsible for the death of his father, Findlaich, and Gruoch fears that Macbeth is only visiting Gille to seek his revenge. However, this unexpected encounter between Macbeth and Gruoch turns into love and they have a child while Gruoch is still married to Gille. A rather awkward situation, but eventually, Macbeth and Gruoch are united to become King and Queen of Scotland.

As someone who is not familiar with the historical story of Macbeth and Gruoch, I found this novella engrossing and thrilling. This version of Macbeth and his Lady Macbeth was much more believable with danger around every corner and I did not know where the story was heading. It did not feel like a novella and I did not want it to end. If you are a Shakespeare fan or someone who loves a good medieval tale, I highly recommend you read, “Queen Macbeth” by Val McDermid.

A very enjoyable retelling of Lady Macbeth, I really liked the writing and the characters in the book.
Thanks Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this female-centered retelling of Macbeth, Scottish author Val McDermid intends to set the record straight about the Macbeths. No longer the blood-soaked villains of Shakespeare, but a strong, charismatic couple who defied the odds to be together. The novella alternates between Queen Macbeth's attempt to flee Malcolm's men after the deaths of her husband and son and her memories of times passed as she met Malcolm and fell head over heels in love with him.

A recommended read for fans of Shakespeare, historical fiction, and feminist retellings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I DNFed at 50%. I don’t like the formatting of the flashbacks. It just being in italics reminds me of how fanfictions are written, not published works. It’s weird to read. I was also bored reading this. By the time i get even a little invested in one timeline’s plot, it’s switched to the other one. At some point I was just skimming because I couldn’t be bothered to care about what was going on, because it’d switch back and forth so often.

The book was short, yet it took me a long time to get through. I enjoyed the story and wished it went more in depth and built up the characters more. It also was hard to follow the timelines as I’m not familiar with the history. I gave the book 3 stars, it was solid and worth reading, I just wish it was more engaging and engrossing with details that kept me pouring over it. Kudos to the author for a such a good short story it left me wanting more. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book to read and review

Queen Macbeth
By Val McDermid

Shakespeare created a villainess who stands among the most hated women of all time – Lady Macbeth. She and her husband have gone down in theater annals as evil conspirators without equal. "Macbeth" is referred to as "The Scottish Play", as its true name remains unspoken.

But Shakespeare – as he has in other plays (Richard III, for example) – has twisted the historical record and led generations to believe his version of these historical figures.

Now Val Mcdermid has written a book to set the record straight. Lady Macbeth was not a Lady – but the true first queen of Scotland. She lived in a brutal, dangerous time. She was hounded by greedy, power-hungry men who wished to kill her, because she stood in their way. This is a story that needed to be told, to right a wrong and return Queen Macbeth's reputation to its accurate place in history.

For those who hate injustice, this book is a must read.

I usually read McDermid’s police procedurals so this book is quite different. McDermid apparently did much research insisting that Shakespeare had it all wrong. Wrong names, wrong location. She did the research to back up her claims about Shakespeare was wrong. This book is quite impressive.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the document.

So I likely should have looked at what the book was about before downloading the ARC, but I was too excited when I saw Val McDermid's name and this isn't at all what I was expecting. I found it a bit confusing and I'm not sure if it was my head space, the fact that I haven't read MacBeth, the book itself or maybe all three. I enjoyed it enough to finish it.

Val McDermid's Queen Macbeth is a retelling of the story of one of Shakespeare's most famous plays from the point of view of Macbeth's lover then wife, Gruoch of Moray. 

I think for me this novella lacked the time and space I needed to emotionally connect to the characters and to the love story between Macbethad and Gruoch that led to such huge changes to her future. 

I also felt we needed more space to better explore the sheer amount of action and events that are packed into the story. We whizz around a dual timeline via various continents, and characters are separated, reunited, born and die in such a whirlwind that I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Some parts of the plot were skipped over so quickly it was like the characters barely got to feel anything about them, even though years were passing in terms of the timeline. 

For the parts that McDermid had space to explore, I really enjoyed them. Gruoch was given a beautifully poetic voice, and I loved the use of Scots. The women character's connection to nature and magic was interesting and I loved the retelling of the three witches as her three companions - the relationships between which I thought had some really touching moments. 

Thank you to the author and @groveatlantic for an advanced copy of the book - Queen Macbeth is out now!

(I will post on instagram on 30 September)

Lady Gruoch Macbeth, the heroine of Val McDermid's new novel Queen Macbeth, is nowhere near Shakespear's depiction of a woman obsessed by ambition. Based on historical records that the Bard ignored when they didn't fit his narrative, McDermid seeks to reset the record. Told in a dual timeline alternating between her running for her life with her three BFFs - a healer, a weaver and a seer - and her memories of her younger years beginning shortly after her father marries her off to Gille Coemegain, the Mormaer of Moray who murdered his way to becoming the defacto king of the North. At risk of being set aside for not conceiving an heir, Gruoch devices a plan to seduce her newly met cousin, Macbeth, and hope she will become pregnant. Unexpectedly, love flares between them and Macbeth takes revenge on Coemegain for killing Macbeth's father, then claims Gruoch and her newly born son to raise as his own. Twenty years later, Macbeth is killed in battle, their son murdered and Gruoch is running for her life. I kept thinking of Game of Thrones whenever I put this tale down.

A quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you to Net Galley and Grove Atlantic for the early access copy. This was my introduction to Val McDermid. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Val McDermid is best known for her mysteries but first and foremost she is a storyteller who creates complex characters who have faults and strengths. This time she has turned her attention to the famous Lady MacBeth but she is not the one that Shakespeare made infamous (and misrepresented the facts about) instead she is a Queen who was sold into marriage, found another love, became a reigning consort, a mother, a widower, and a forced to be reckoned with in medieval Scotland where she will flee for her life with her companions from those that will kill her. Tragedy, ambition, strength, endurance and love are what this remarkable character has endured. Meet a reimagined Queen Macbeth that is probably much closer to the truth than anything Shakespeare created and just as memorable. Strongly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A vastly different take on an infamous Shakespearean character.

When most hear the name Lady Macbeth they think of the character from the Shakespeare play, a far from appealing woman remembered for her bloodthirsty ambition. But how many know that the Macbeths were real people in Scotland’s history, and that Shakespeare’s depiction was not an accurate one? In Queen Macbeth the talented Val McDermid relates the couple’s tale from the perspective of the woman we know now as Lady Macbeth, Gruoch. A woman of royal blood herself, she is married off by her father to Gille Coemegáin the Mormaer of Moray and the de facto king of the North. As was the custom in those times, marriages were arranged to achieve strategic alliances and women were considered pieces of property to be bartered. Gruoch is accompanied into the marriage by the three women closest to her, Ligach, Aife and Eithne. It is a loveless match and Gille is a boorish figure, but most troubling is the fact that Gruoch has been unable to produce an heir, a situation which leaves her and her women in jeopardy. When she meets her husband’s handsome and charismatic kinsman, Macbeth, with whom she shares an immediate attraction, she spies an opportunity to become pregnant and ensure her position. Neither she nor Macbeth counted on the encounter becoming a full-blown love affair, and must lay more plans if they are to have a life together. Claiming a throne is not for the weak of heart, and doing so to remove Gille and replace him with Macbeth will result in initial success but will lead the way to future danger to those close to them, including their son. For in those medieval days, there was no guaranteed succession to the throne, nor any guarantee as to the length of one’s reign.
A quick and fascinating read, Queen Macbeth was a revelation to me. Like most, my knowledge of the Macbeths was limited to what Shakespeare had written in what is known as The Scottish Play. I had a vague idea that the characters were based on historical figures, but little more. I owe Lady Macbeth/Gruoch a massive apology…she is so much more than an ambitious harpy pushing her husband to political heights. Like many other women in history, she was someone whose destiny was not in her own hands and who had little choice but to maneuver when and where she could behind the scenes to keep herself and those in her inner circle safe. This is part love story and part political intrigue, detailing the harsh life and conditions in which people of the era lived, with well-drawn characters and a visceral sense of place. One of Gruoch’s ladies is a seer and healer, a supremely important person to have at one’s side, and the four women together have an ironclad bond which enriches each. The reader sees not only the sumptuous feasts that the king hosted, but the possible deprivations that lay ahead for the lower members of the clan when their communal larders were raided to supply those feasts, and a talented healer could very quickly be accused of witchcraft if they weren’t careful. A thoroughly enjoyable tale, sure to appeal to readers of Alison Weir, Umberto Eco and Sharon Kay Penman. Ever wondered what might happen if Shakespeare and Game of Thrones commingled? This is one possible answer. Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for allowing me early access to this, the latest in the Darkland Tales series. And brava to Val McDermid, whose writing never disappoints.