Title:
- Macbeth the King
Authors:
Genres:
Editions:
| # | Date | Publisher | Binding | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1978-00-00 | Trafalgar Square Publishing |  |
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- Blurb:
- Macbeth is one of the best-known names in literature, thanks to Shakespeare. But as a historical person who lived and loved and fought and reigned, nothing much is known. Shakespeare"s version is great drama but utter fabrication as far as history goes. And sadly, in the tragic play, the character of Macbeth, and still more of his great lady and queen, Gruoch, has been grievously defamed. Macbeth, grandson of Malcolm II, was no savage usurper and regicide -- just as his cousin, "the gracious Duncan" of the play, was not a gentle king but a weak and foolish king who was going to be a disaster for Scotland, and died, not murdered, of battle wounds. Queen Gruoch, who had more right to the throne than either Duncan or Macbeth, was never the female monster portrayed in Lady Macbeth, but a woman of great character and courage. Nigel Tranter"s story is of the historical Macbeth and his struggle to make and save a united Scotland, of his love of a greatly-wronged young woman, of the humane laws they sought to establish, the battles he was forced to fight, the ancient Celtic Church he supported against the incursion of Rome and the ultimate price he had to pay. To a large extent, the book is also the story of Thorfinn, (Macbeth"s half-brother) Viking Earl of Orkney. Ranging all over Scotland and the Hebrides, the story also goes to Norway, Denmark and Rome. Canute, Edward the Confessor, Siward of Northumbria, King Sven of Denmark, Pope Leo IX, the Saxons and the Normans are amongst the host of forceful characters who stride across the huge and colorful canvas which Nigel Tranter has brought to life.