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

Two Girls From Gettysburg.

Klein, Lisa. Two Girls From Gettysburg.
Bloomsbury see St. Martins, 2008, 393p, 16.99, 978-1-59990-105-3 ms/hs

When the Civil War breaks out they find themselves on opposite sides of the war. Lizzie was committed to the Union cause and saving her family’s struggling business. Rosanna return to the South to marry her daring Confederate officer. It is a heart moving story of two young girls growing up in a time of national tragedy and family struggles.
Lizzie and Rosanna are both cousins, and best friends. The two girls have forged a friendship when one cousin is sent to live with her sister in Pennsylvania. Their teenage years were typical for the time and place. However, things changed drastically when the War between the States broke out causing families to be split and hardships to be endured by everyone.
When the war breaks out Lizzie finds herself and her family committed to the ideals of the North. Rosanna on the other hand finds herself moving back to the South and falling in love with a dashing Confederate officer.
In following the struggles and encounters these two girls have to endure, the reader can better understand the physical hardships and emotional struggles families had to endure as the war progressed through the farmlands of our nation. Readers will feel the emotions of the two girls as they fight to maintain a life for themselves and the ones around them. It was a harsh time. But, the author was also able to show that it was a time where love could counterbalance tragedy. L. McNeil