Editorial Content for Queen Macbeth

The front cover depicts a red rose framed by thorny branches with bright red blood dripping from the tip of a single thorn. The inside cover states: "Shakespeare fed us the myth of the Macbeths as murderous conspirators. But now Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history. Expect the unexpected…"

QUEEN MACBETH is the historical tale on which Shakespeare based his infamous “The Scottish Play,” but now Scottish author Val McDermid separates the fictional from the historical. She covers the details that brought Gruoch, known to us for centuries as Lady Macbeth, together with her lover and future king, Lord Macbeth, as covered from the perspective of the woman who would be Queen Macbeth.

"QUEEN MACBETH is masterfully conceived and provides readers with the background to further appreciate the strength and fortitude of the woman who has been called Lady Macbeth. There is no one better for this task than Val McDermid..."

This short novel is packed with details and flashbacks that turn the saga into a fast-moving adventure story with peril at every turn. It also shows the end results of actions and decisions that would forever change the course of history for the land that one day would become Scotland. The Author’s Note tells us that not only was Lady Macbeth named Gruoch, Macbeth was known as MacBethad. We also learn of the actual slaying of King Duncan and the fact that the land was still not called Scotland but consisted of kingdoms called Moray, Alba, Dál Riata and Fife, among others.

At the start of the tale, Gruoch is married to Gille, a man to whom her family traded her to become his betrothed. We see through her eyes the first time she spies Gille’s cousin, Macbeth, and knows that one day they will be together. She is unable to have children with Gille, which we find out is his fault, and never knows love with him. She feels that all of this could be possible if she could somehow escape from Gille and run away to Macbeth. It is a delicate balance of power that hangs over these plans, and she needs to tread carefully.

Gruoch is accompanied by her female companions, Aife and Eithne, and they understand full well what her desires are. After the brutal murder of Macbeth’s father, the kingdom is divided between Malcolm in Alba and Gille in Moray. Macbeth is left with nothing, thereby providing the impetus he requires to take his future revenge. Once they finally get together and eventually become lovers, Gruoch and Macbeth communicate secretly through flower arrangements put together by one of her ladies and a young stable boy loyal to Macbeth.

Gruoch becomes pregnant with Macbeth’s child, Lulach, the future heir to the throne. Though Gille takes initial claim to the boy, Gruoch and others close to her realize that the sire belongs to Macbeth. Things come to a head in a terrific flashback sequence that plays like a scene from “Game of Thrones.” Macbeth and his men burn down a hall with Gille and his supporters trapped inside, and it is at this point that the rule of Macbeth and Gruoch is born.

There is another great flashback that depicts Macduff, an enemy of Macbeth, seeking out and finding Gruoch and her ladies while they are in hiding during all of the troubles that happened in Gille’s kingdom. Macbeth rescues them, and he and Gruoch set their aim to sailing away to a harbor where their destination, Caisteal Chiosmuil, stands.

QUEEN MACBETH is masterfully conceived and provides readers with the background to further appreciate the strength and fortitude of the woman who has been called Lady Macbeth. There is no one better for this task than Val McDermid, who grew up in Fife and played in the ruins of Macduff’s Castle as a child.