All Our Yesterdays

October 1, 2023

Born into a noble family in 11th-century Scotland and married off young to a sadistic husband, Morris's protagonist just wants to protect her son from constant warfare. Then, freed of marital bonds by her husband's downfall and growing more powerful in her own right, she falls in love with the thane Macbeth. Yes, debuter Morris revisits Shakespeare's grimly brimming Scottish queen. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 8, 2024
Morris debuts with an intriguing tale of Lady Macbeth during the years before events depicted in Shakespeare’s play. Known only as “the Lady,” she meets a “bewitched woman” as a young girl in the early 11th century, who prophesies: “You shall be queen.” At 15, she marries the brutal Mormaer of Moray, who murdered his uncle to secure his title. They have a son, unnamed in the narrative, whom the mormaer viciously mocks for shedding tears. Later, the Lady teaches the boy how to hold a dagger, hoping to protect him from his sadistic father. After Macbeth kills the mormaer by setting a fire, the Lady marries Macbeth with full knowledge of his deed. Her son hears gossip about the mormaer’s death, and he becomes increasingly suspicious his father was murdered. Crisp, no-nonsense prose conveys the narrative’s gathering darkness (“Time without light has no season. It is no time at all,” thinks the Lady), and Morris intelligently explores the era’s gender dynamics (“What the husbands consider close-kept secrets are open knowledge to the wives”). It’s an entertaining prequel to Shakespeare’s complex and haunting tragedy.

February 1, 2024
Those who know their Shakespeare will have no difficulty gleaning the plot from this novel's title: it's a reimaging of Macbeth, or, rather, the events leading up to the play's beginnings. Lady Macbeth (known simply as "the Lady") narrates, alternating with third-person chapters from her son's ("the boy") perspective. When the Lady's first husband, the Mormaer of Moray, is murdered by Macbeth in revenge for the Mormaer's murder of Macbeth's father, the Lady is well quit of a brutal partner. In Macbeth, she finds "a sea of love . . . we are only standing on its shore." All characters are drawn with inventiveness and depth. What brings the Lady to her later encouragement of fell deeds is a backstory that is entirely illuminating of her motivations. When she notes her flaws, a sympathetic Macbeth queries: "Are they flaws if I love them?" He values her strength, explaining to the boy: "She's undaunted by things that would make most women tremble." This is a beautifully realized tale of a daughter, mother, and wife ultimately at the mercy of Fate's unknowable interventions.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from January 15, 2024
A prequel to Shakespeare's Macbeth told in modern prose. An 11th-century widow and her 10-year-old son are called "the Lady" and "the boy," as if their names don't matter. Indeed, her life is shaped wholly by men. The thane Macbeth has murdered her husband--burned him alive--and now moves into the woman's castle. Not only does she not mind, but they fall in love and marry. Do the castle gossips call it an unholy union? As well they might, and the boy resents both his mother and Macbeth. She tells her son that together they can teach Macbeth how to be a father and a husband. "It is harsh, this world," the mother says. "It is so hard to find love in it....We are fortunate if we find the smallest drop." Drops of love are scant in this tale, while drops of blood are much easier to find. Morris doesn't handle the plot quite as Shakespeare did, with witches and a murder scheme. This is less the story of Macbeth than it is the story of the missus. She is spooked by apparitions and a mysterious voice that says, "You shall be queen hereafter." It's hard for her to imagine how, as Duncan is king. But then her trusted "coz" Macduff reminds her that Macbeth is second in line. If you've read the play, you already know where we're headed, but don't let that stop you from reading this beautiful interpretation, which is so rich in its descriptions and well-crafted characters. Yes, night is a frightening time to be in the woods, but "ghosts melt away at the whiff of dawn." There are mormaers and crones, thanes and witches, ambition and vengeance. And did we mention blood? Oh yes. Even the minor characters are fun, like the boy's tutor Broccin, who despises children: They should all be sent to monasteries, "where the years might drain them of their insouciance like leeches applied to the body." A most enjoyable setup for the Scottish play, but be sure to read the original, too.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from January 26, 2024

DEBUT In this audacious debut novel, Morris imagines the prehistory of Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. Macbeth killed her first husband, who was a brute. Thane of Moray at last, Macbeth married her. It was a marriage of promise: Macbeth loved her, she him; she raised her son as his own. Relations with the king, Duncan, were good. The son is happy until by accident he learns that his mother had hidden the truth from him--it was Macbeth who killed his father. He rejects her but soon is found dead in the stable, his head caved in. Lady Macbeth's life loses spice. Even love flees. Estate and honors no longer matter. Trapped in grief, she sees nothing ahead for her but life without meaning. Her cousin Macduff succeeds in reawakening her ambition--but only for destruction henceforth. The king visits. Her husband returns from war. Macbeth has met the witches, heard their prophecies. Nothing but devastation will follow but none of it has happened yet. VERDICT This brilliantly conceived novel explains Lady Macbeth's character. Stronger than her husband but without control of her future, she rages against her sex and wishes she were a man.--David Keymer

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.