Lady Macbeth

The novel begins with Roscille as the young, future bride of Macbeth, moving to Scotland from another country. Do you think her young age and her foreign upbringing influence her opinions of Scotland? How do your own biases influence how you experience new things?

Lady Macbeth has a prominent role in urging her husband to secure the crown in Shakespeare’s original play, famously renouncing her femininity to commit murder. Do you think Roscille is truly powerless as a woman? In what ways does the book show how traits that are traditionally considered weak can be made powerful?

Initially, Shakespeare’s Macbeth depicts Macbeth as a noble man with honorable intentions, making it difficult to classify him as purely good or bad. Is there a clear indication of which one he is in this novel? Explain.

One of Roscille’s challenges is that she is one of the few women in Lord Macbeth’s court. What do you think of the author’s choice to focus on the different types of masculinity in the men who surround her? What makes Macbeth and Banquho different from Fléance and Lisander, for example?

What did you do you think of the role of the three witches and their prophecy in this novel? Are the characters still responsible for their own actions, or is fate pulling the strings?

Roscille is raised to believe she is witch-marked because of her looks—that she is a threat to men. Based on her memories, and interactions with men, do you think she is actually cursed? Why might this be a convenient cover for her father and the men in her life?

What other famous works of literature would you like to see reimagined from a female character’s perspective? Why?

Who is your favorite character in Lady Macbeth? Who would you have liked to see more in the novel?

Both Macbeth and Lisander are powerful men who have a monstrous side. What did you think of the author’s choice to introduce an additional love interest for Lady Macbeth? Would you have changed how Roscille’s story ends?

If you could ask the author one question about the book, what would it be?