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.

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)