SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSBORO GLASS BELL AWARD 2024
LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER 2024
Power. History. Love. Hate. Vengeance.
She will be Queen. Whatever it takes...
Daughter of an ousted king. Descendant of powerful druids. Destined to take her place in history.
As a child, Gruoch's grandmother prophesies that she will one day be Queen of Alba and reclaim the lands of her Pictish kin. When, many years later, she is betrothed to Duncan, the heir-elect, the prophecy appears to come true. Determined to never to be as powerless as her parents, Gruoch leaves behind her home, her family and her friend MacBethad, and travels to the royal seat at Scone to seal her fate.
But when a deadly turn of events forces Gruoch to flee Duncan and the capital, Gruoch finds herself at the mercy of an old enemy.
Her hope of becoming Queen all but lost, Gruoch does what she must to survive, until she is given a choice: live a long, peaceful life but fall into obscurity, or seize her chance for vengeance and a path back to the throne.
An unputdownable, sweeping historical epic, Lady MacBethad reimagines the life of Gruoch - the real life Scottish Queen who inspired one of Shakespeare's most famous characters.