Atlantic Monthly Press
Atlantic Monthly Press
Atlantic Monthly Press
NEW!
Shakespeare created the myth of the Macbeths as indefensible murderous conspirators. But now internationally bestselling author Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history
Britain’s reigning “Queen of Crime” (The Scotsman), Val McDermid has ensnared audiences worldwide for over thirty years with her thrilling and masterfully plotted crime oeuvre. A radical, rip-roaring counternarrative, Queen Macbeth delivers an illuminating portrait of Shakespeare’s most famous villain, and the treacherous pursuit of ambition that made her legendary.
A thousand years ago in an ancient Scottish landscape, a woman is on the run with her three companions – a healer, a weaver, and a seer. The men hunting her will kill her – because she is the only one who stands between them and their violent ambition. She is no lady: she is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king called Macbeth. As the net closes in, what unfurls is a tale of passion, forced marriage, bloody massacre, and the harsh realities of medieval Scotland. At the heart of it is one strong, charismatic woman, who survived loss and jeopardy to outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and power-hungry men. Her struggle won her a country. But now it could cost her life.
Immersive and utterly riveting, Queen Macbeth is an electric reimagining of one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated tragedies and reaffirms McDermid as one of the preeminent writers of our day.
“A page-turning tale of adversity and adventure, laughter and love, death and defiance.”—The Scotsman (UK)
“[McDermid] successfully dismantled my blood-soaked Shakespearean assumptions about Lady Macbeth.”—Libby Brooks, The Story of Childhood
“A wondrous tale of subterfuge, courage, and resolve.”—Lovereading
“McDermid plunges into medieval Scotland. Overturning Shakespeare’s propaganda, the reader will encounter a new Lady Macbeth amidst a web of vicious intrigue.”―Good Reading Magazine (Australia)
“Gripping . . . the mighty Val McDermid interpret[s] the story of Lady Macbeth with searing feminist power.”—Waterstones Says
“[A] relentlessly engrossing series.”—Wall Street Journal on Broken Ground
“There are few other crime writers in the same league as Val McDermid. Her stories are ingeniously plotted, moody . . . Absorbing . . . It’s Karen’s character that’s the enduring draw of this series . . . Out of Bounds is another terrific and intricate suspense novel by a writer who has given us 30 of them. As I said, there are few other crime writers in the same league as Val McDermid.”—Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post on Out of Bounds
“We read crime fiction for enjoyment, comfort and reassurance. McDermid provides all this . . . Still Life shows that she is still at the height of her powers; it is deeply enjoyable, one of her best.”—Scotsman (UK) on Still Life
“McDermid is at the top of her game and readers will be highly rewarded for taking this new journey at her side.”—CrimeReads on Still Life
“A thriller as steely and superlative as its heroine.”—O, The Oprah Magazine on Broken Ground
“No one writes sturdier mysteries than Val McDermid.”—Chicago Tribune on Out of Bounds
“McDermid remains unrivalled . . . brilliant.”—Observer (UK) on How the Dead Speak
“Further evidence that her ‘Queen of Crime’ status will not be challenged.”—Scotsman on How the Dead Speak
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