Queen Macbeth

Val McDermid’s Queen Macbeth is one of a series of Darkland Tales, in which “the best modern Scottish authors offer dramatic retellings of stories from the nation’s history, myth and legend”. Of course, most readers know Macbeth and his bloody queen from Shakespeare’s monumental play. Most readers are also aware that there are dramatic licenses taken with history to create a play that has lasted centuries. In her Author’s Note, Val McDermid writes, “On the one hand, it’s frustrating when there are so many more questions than answers. On the other hand, it leaves plenty of space for the imagination. And that’s what I’ve enjoyed along the road to setting Shakespeare straight.” The problem is that she hasn’t replaced it with anything memorable. In this telling, Gruach is on the run with four of her companions who have supported her relationship with Macbeth (through her marriage to Gille Coemgáin) and now know their lives are in danger because they stand in the way of ambitious men – such as MacDuff and Siward – and their desire to rule Scotland. The novel is narrated in the first person and shifts in time. The Author’s Note explains that McDermid wishes to clear up some misconceptions, which she proceeds to do in the body of the work. Queen Macbeth is called Gruoch, formerly married to Gille Coemgáin. Scotland was not a country – there was Moray and Alba and Dál Riata and Fife and a few other ‘kingdoms’. There was no such thing as a direct line of succession. And Macbeth killed Duncan on the battlefield, not in his sleep. Although trying to distance herself from the great bard’s version, she includes some of his language, which is fortunate because hers is dull, so these expressions leap out: “I feel a tingling in my thumbs”; “Macbeth has murdered sleep”; “Stands Scotland where it did?”; “For blood will have blood.” The need to place the novel in realistic historic context is its downfall, with the detail appearing as clunky. The glossary provides yet further explanation, but, as the story is strangely flat and not engaging, the Author’s Note at the start is sufficient.

A short enjoyable read. This retelling of Queen Gruoch and her husband King Macbethad shines a very different light on the well known Shakespeare play. The main differences being this is a little closer to the real history and that it paints Gruoch and Macbeth in a much better light. I thought this was a great wee read which taught me some more of Scotlands history while also taking some creative freedoms to keep it feeling like and interesting novella and not just a history documentary. I will definitely be picking up more of the darkland tales series and more by Val McDermid