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. This theme of the relationship between gender and power is key to Lady Macbeth’s character: her husband implies that she is a masculine soul inhabiting a female body, which seems to link masculinity to ambition and violence. Shakespeare, however, seems to use her, and the witches, to undercut Macbeth’s idea that “undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males” (1.7.73–74). These crafty women use femalemethods of achieving power—that is, manipulation—to further their supposedly male ambitions. Women, the play implies, can be as ambitious and cruel as men, yet social constraints deny them the means to pursue these ambitions on their own. I received a free copy from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you kindly to Harper Collins for my review copy. Keslassy, Elsa (16 December 2016). " 'Glory,' 'Home,' 'The Fixer' Among Winners at Les Arcs Film Festival". Variety . Retrieved 30 December 2017. Todos los nominados a los Premios Goya 2018". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 13 December 2017 . Retrieved 13 December 2017.

Couche, Christine (2010). Chalk, Darryl; Johnson, Laurie (eds.). 'Rapt in Secret Studies': Emerging Shakespeares. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p.161. ISBN 9781443823524. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2016. [5] Shortly after, Roadside Attractions and Altitude Film Distribution acquired US and UK distribution rights to the film, respectively. [6] [7] It went onto screen at the BFI London Film Festival on 14 October 2016 [8] and the Sundance Film Festival on 20 January 2017. [9] Chamberlain, Stephanie (Summer 2005). "Fantasizing Infanticide: Lady Macbeth and the Murdering Mother in Early Modern England". College Literature. West Chester, Pennsylvania: West Chester University of Pennsylvania. 32 (2): 72–91. doi: 10.1353/lit.2005.0038. ISSN 1542-4286. S2CID 29004181. Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards". 26 February 2017. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017 . Retrieved 29 November 2017.Lady Macbeth is an interesting minimalist story of a smothered young woman, whose intensity will lay waste to the social fabric of the estate. In fact, much of the proceedings are Shakespearean with their emphasis on man's weakness in his dominance, a woman's Eve-like ability to lure men into sin, and the pride that inevitably leads to a fall. Gruoch herself feels like a YA heroine who doesn’t know what’s going on because she’s in a world she’s only just discovered. But Gruoch’s not in a new world at any point. This is where she’s been born and raised, she would know exactly what was going on, she would be taught about religion and would grow up expecting to be married off to a man of her father’s choosing. In this novel the fact she’s not makes about half a dozen adults look neglectful. Glory' wins top prize at Les Arcs European Film Festival". Screen Daily. 19 December 2016 . Retrieved 3 April 2023.

The truth of it was that I had been born to be a queen. My blood sang of it, with or without a prophecy." Lady Macbeth". BFI London Film Festival. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017 . Retrieved 22 February 2017.

“I was shocked, thrilled even, to learn that Gruoch had lived this completely different life before MacBeth”

Fossett, Katelyn (4 November 2022). "The return of the Lady Macbeth trope". POLITICO . Retrieved 23 March 2023. As a child, Gruoch's grandmother prophecies 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 nothing is as Gruoch anticipates. Duncan's court is filled with sly words and unfriendly faces, women desperate to usurp her position, and others whose motives are shrouded in mystery. As her coronation approaches, a deadly turn of events forces Gruoch to flee Duncan and the capital, finding herself alone, vulnerable and at the mercy of an old enemy. Her hope of becoming Queen all but lost, Gruoch does what she must to survive, vowing that one day she will fulfill her destiny and take up the future owed to her. Whatever it may take. Bafta Film Awards 2018: The winners in full". BBC News. 18 February 2018 . Retrieved 10 March 2018. Gruoch was not my favourite character. She is based on the blueprint Lady Macbeth laid down - she is scheming, paranoid and violent - though the reasons she developed into this character were interesting to discover along the way. My favourite character ended up being Macbethad, who was one of the more balanced characters. The fact that he stood out in the book that was about her, and she stood out in the play about him, is an irony that is not lost on me.