Book 72 - Ophelia by Lisa Klein - Elsinore, Denmark

You know I love adaptations of Shakespeare's plays as novels. Lisa Klein seems to enjoy writing them and she does it so well. 

Ophelia grows up in the confines of the royal castle. Her father is trying to curry favour with the King and when the Queen is looking for a new lady-in-waiting he offers his daughter's services. Ophelia quickly becomes one of the Queen's favourites and she is asked to read aloud her favourite books, some in secret as they are romances. During this time Ophelia sees more of Prince Hamlet during his visits home from his studies in Europe and they fall in love. Guarded by Hamlet's best friend Horatio they conduct their romance in secret. 

In amongst all this romantic secrecy more treacherous works are happening in the palace. The King mysteriously dies and his brother becomes King and marries the Queen, Hamlet's mother. Hamlet returns to Denmark, suspicious and troubled. Ophelia and Hamlet secretly marry. Their relationship cannot be openly acknowledged as there seems to be danger at every turn. Hamlet suspects everyone, including Ophelia's father, who he kills when he finds him in the King's private rooms. Hamlet is sent away and Ophelia is left mourning her father, trying to placate her brother who is bent on revenge and wondering whether her own life is at risk. She is forced to make the bravest decision she has ever made and with Horatio's help she executes her plan - just in time.

I enjoy the way Lisa Klein takes the plays Hamlet and Macbeth and creates a rich world in her novels. These novels are a wonderful way to enhance the teaching of Shakespeare. They add depth and I can see how students would have much fuel for discussion and thought reading both.

Review from Teen Reads   Lisa Klein's own website

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.