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Title details for Lady Macbeth by Susan King - Available

Lady Macbeth

A Novel

by Susan King
Wanda McCaddon
Audiobook
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"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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 17, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400126156
      • File size: 314742 KB
      • Duration: 10:55:42

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The historical Lady Macbeth was an altogether more nuanced woman than the striving, difficult character in Shakespeare's play. As novelist Susan Fraser King reveals in this thoroughly researched and intriguing tale, the real eleventh-century Lady Gruadh turned a forced marriage to Scottish King Mac Bethad into a powerhouse partnership. Wanda McCaddon's fine, perceptive narration is key to the book's success. Her voice lilting, she enlivens the paragraphs of historical information and drives the narrative vividly through adventure, romance, and danger. She also imbues the main characters with enough personality--here an inflection, there a shift in accent--to clarify a character's motivation without getting in the way. This is just the ticket for lovers of the best-quality historical fiction. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 17, 2007
      Historical romance novelist King leaps into deeper historical waters with this captivating take on Lady Macbeth, who tells her side of the story with a forceful, uncompromising daring. Gruadh, the future Lady Macbeth and the daughter of 11th-century Scottish prince Bodhe, survives several kidnappings in her girlhood and, determined to uphold the traditions of fierce Celtic women warriors, learns how to fight. “Rue” meets Macbeth, whose royal blood is nearly as pure as hers, but her father marries her off to the warrior Gillecomgan, of whom she grows fond. Macbeth kills him during Rue’s pregnancy and immediately marries her, as is his right as victor—and there soon prove to be many more compelling reasons for the match. As King Malcolm’s tyranny causes unrest, the Macbeths embark on a bloody campaign to win over their countrymen. Based on historical evidence and recent theories of the era, this is an epic tale written in high-voltage prose. King’s novel will thrill lovers of Shakespeare adaptations and delight anyone who wants to enjoy a ripping tale of love and ambition.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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