Review: Queen Hereafter by Isabelle Schuler

Queen Hereafter by Isabelle Schuler reimagines Lady MacBeth pre Macbeth. An heir to the crown of Alba with Pict heritage, young Gruoch lives her life according to a prophecy made by her Druid grandmother that she will inherit the crown and be remembered for ages to come. Gruoch is often blinded by this prophecy, even forsaking her own chance at true love and happiness when, as a teenager, she first has the opportunity to marry young MacBethad. Instead, she opts to marry his cousin Duncan who is the direct heir to the crown.

Gruoch is not necessarily a likeable character, but her at-all-costs survival skills are to be respected. At the same time, her actions and the way she treats others does not leave the reader with much empathy for her (perhaps that’s the point, given the play.) Gruoch’s blindness to her grandmother’s prophecy drives her to make decisions that not only seem morally gray, but also counterintuitive to her own well-being and happiness. Gruoch is right to mention to male characters that she does not necessarily have the luxury to choose happiness, but on the other hand, she seems drawn to walking the harder road if it means winning the crown. Not many of the other characters are terribly likeable save Gruoch’s surrogate mother (MacBethad’s mother) and Gruoch’s servant. MacBethad himself seems okay, but we don’t see him a lot in this book as it follows Gruoch’s life.

Queen Hereafter ends with the beginning of the ultimate plot for the crown, but I found the conclusion to be quite abrupt.

Queen Hereafter will be released in the US on Oct 10, 2023.