Book Summary and Reviews of Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

Lady Macbeth

A Novel

by Ava Reid

  • Critics' Consensus (6):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Aug 2024, 320 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid comes a reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare's most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her.

The Lady knows the stories: how her eyes induce madness in men.

The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.

The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of strategy, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive. 

But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armor. She does not know that her magic is greater and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world. 

She does not know this yet. But she will.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[A] tour de force...Reid deftly subverts the expected plot beats, enhancing the play's familiar story line by deepening not only her heroine, who is surprisingly sympathetic, but members of the supporting cast, such as Banquho's son, Fléance. It's a masterful reimagining." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Reid (Juniper & Thorn) takes some interesting liberties with this renowned Shakespeare character, and centering her retelling on a woman's point of view will draw interest. The novel's fantastical elements, like the witches, are exciting, and the multilingual prose is historically compelling." —Library Journal

"Deftly told and richly imagined, Lady Macbeth is a gothic fever dream with sharpened teeth." —Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of The Foxglove King

"Lady Macbeth is a knife of a book: bloodstained, sharply beautiful, and necessary. I couldn't look away." —Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House

"Gorgeously written, haunting, and dark, Lady Macbeth is an unforgettable retelling that will set your imagination alight." —Sue Lynn Tan, USA Today bestselling author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess

This information about Lady Macbeth was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Ava Reid

Ava Reid is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the gothic fantasies A Study in Drowning, Juniper & Thorn, and Lady Macbeth. She lives in California.

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