Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where we randomly select a book from our Goodreads To Be Read list and share it with the world. It’s hosted by Lauren’s Page Turners, so be sure to link back to her site so that we can all see what everyone plans to read!
Lady Macbeth
by Susan Fraser King
Historical Fiction
340 pages
Published February, 2008, by Crown
From Goodreads: “I am 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 fiercely to bear my babes into this world.
I have loved deeply and hated deeply, too.”
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 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.
Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, has its roots in real Scottish history. This book is not based upon the play, but upon that history, which makes it even more interesting to me. I love a good Shakespeare pastiche, but a book based upon the real history– by an author known for her historical accuracy– sounds even better.
Traveling in Books 
I hadn’t heard of this before, but it sounds quite interesting as I can’t name any other take on Shakespeare that follows the history and isn’t a retelling of just the play.
Right? Shakespearean retellings are about as common as fairytale retellings, but you never hear about the actual history of Macbeth. I’m definitely going to be tracking this one down in 2020.