Thursday, June 21, 2012

Book 65 - Lady Macbeth's daughter by Lisa Klein - Scotland

I think I have mentioned before that I love Shakespeare and I  love fiction works that relate to Shakespeare and his plays. This book was so good in that it asks "what if?". Lisa Klein takes the line, "I have given suck, and know/ How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me.." (I.7.54-55) and imagines the babies Lady Macbeth is referring to. She gives her a some from a previous marriage and a daughter to Macbeth. The daughter, Albia, is born with a deformed foot and is rejected by her father who was expecting a son. He sends the babe to be left outside the walls but Lady Macbeth's maid rescues her and takes her to her own sister to raise. Her sister is one of three sisters who meet Macbeth and prophesy his rise to new status. 

Klein very cleverly entwines many parts of the play into a realistic story line. Albia is taken to be foster daughter to Banquo and his wife Breda after their own daughter dies of a fever. There she meets and develops a love for their son Fleance. Albia is also aware that she has a gift of the sight and \can see things in the future. Which is both comforting and terrifying at the same time. 

The Author's note at the end is worth reading. I know this play well and I wonder if others who do not know it would enjoy it as much. I believe they would.