Klein, Lisa. Lady Macbeth’s Daughter.

Klein, Lisa. Lady Macbeth’s Daughter.
Bloomsbury see St. Martins 2009 291p 16.99 978-1-59990-347-7 ms/hs In alternating chapters, Lady Macbeth, and her daughter Albia, banished at birth, tell their stories against the backdrop of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. As Klein notes, “Lady Macbeth’s Daughter is a work of fiction inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth”, which itself is modeled on early chronicles of Scottish history. Although Lady Macbeth and her husband have no children in the play, a line in the play alludes to the possibility that Lady Macbeth had children, and so Klein introduces Albia, a complicated and courageous teenage girl who had been raised by three witches, also known as the Wyrd Sisters. Albia is unaware that she is the daughter of Macbeth and his wife. Wanting sons, but instead having a newborn baby girl with a deformity, he ordered her to be put to death. Unbenowst to Macbeth and his wife, her servant Rhuven, also a Wyrd Sister, saved Albia’s life. Albia later learns of her heritage and rejects the corrupt kingship of her father and fights to overthrow his reign. Although the story is told in alternating chapters from Lady Macbeth and Albia’s points of view, the characters and plot developments are seamlessly interwoven. Scotland’s history comes alive and no prior knowledge of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is needed to enjoy this tale of intrigue, guilt, love and romance. Klein, the author Opheilia and Two Girls of Gettysburg, continues with a strong writing style and complex characters caught up in historical events beyond their control. Zajko, Rosanne