Blurb
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.
My Review
This is story gives us an enlightening view of yet another historical personage “wronged” by Shakespeare. In his play, Lady Macbeth is an ambitious, unscrupulous dragon who pushed her reticent husband to regicide. But in this book, it’s Macbeth who calls the shots. In fact, initially it’s Gruadh (her Celtic name) who is Macbeth’s quarry. She comes from royal stock, and possession of Lady Gruadh’s hand practically guarantees the Macbeth can claim the crown for himself. For he, too, has royal blood in his veins. The pair of them on the throne would bring the ancient lines together. It only remains for him to win her acceptance, for to marry her he had to murder her first husband.
I picked up a woollen skein. ‘So you rode to Burghead to kill the moramaer and marry the widow before she could even bury her husband.’ I hoped to stir the king to outrage.
‘Marriage!’ (King) Malcolm bellowed. ‘You married that one?’
He jabbed a finger toward me. It was not the response I had expected.
‘I did, as the victor.’ Macbeth’s manner was unwavering. ‘The widowed Lady of Moray is about to bear a child. She needs protecting.’
And indeed she did. Lady Gruadh was most vulnerable. Of course, at this stage she considered Macbeth another enemy, and their early wedded life was frigid as the winter snows. But despite herself, she saw that the people of Moray accepted Macbeth as one of their own. And she began to recognize his human qualities, as well as his natural leadership. Eventually, of course, they patched up their differences and even began to work together toward their common goal—the kingship. And this is where we slide into Shakespeare territory, though this time it’s Macbeth who has been wronged by the great bard. King Duncan is not an amiable, considerate guest who was treacherously murdered in his sleep. Far from! The historical Macbeth and Lady Macbeth give us a background every bit as fascinating as Shakespeare’s play, and these two deserve to be vindicated. Great read!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Macbeth-Susan-Fraser-King/dp/0307341747/
