Book description
Rebecca Reisert's mesmerizing first novel re-imagines Macbeth,
Shakespeare's classic tragedy of power and madness, through the eyes
of a mysterious young woman on a dangerous quest for vengeance.
For the girl called Gilly, life in the wilds of Birnam Wood is
little more than a desperate struggle for survival. Seven long years
have passed since she was first taken in and sheltered by Nettle and
Mad Helga, the hut-dwelling wise-women whose inscrutable powers of
alchemy and prophecy are feared and reviled throughout good King
Duncan's kingdom. Living under the threat of deadly persecution by
witch-hunting villagers, the threesome ekes out a life by peddling
potions and elixirs, scavenging for food, and robbing the bloodied
corpses of Scotland's battle-scarred hills for precious metals and
weapons.
But Gilly is haunted by recollections of a much brighter life. She
clings to fading memories of a time when she was contented and adored
-- until tragedy swept all that happiness away and young Gilly's life
was changed forever.
I have made my life an arrow, and His heart is my home. I have
made my heart a blade, and His heart is my sheath....Obsessed
with avenging her loss and putting out the fire that still rages in
her heart, Gilly has dedicated herself to destroying Macbeth, the
boundlessly ambitious man who took away her childhood, and his goading
wife. Disguising herself as a poor servant boy, she insinuates herself
into their lives and, as she bears horrified witness to Macbeth's
violent path to power, Gilly subtly begins to take a hand in the
forces governing his fate. But as the culmination of her revenge draws
near, Gilly finds her own life at risk when she confronts the
troubling legacy of a long-concealed heritage.
The Third Witch is a brilliantly imagined, wonderfully
satisfying novel. In a riveting story of ruthlessness and revenge,
debut author Rebecca Reisert demonstrates a profound understanding of
the Bard's timeless drama -- and of the real-life Macbeth upon whom
Shakespeare's incarnation is modeled.
Publishers Weekly Audacious....The supple
language distantly evokes the poetry of the original.ŠWhat's best here
is the fetid atmosphere, and the intriguing exploration of the place
of women in macho Scotland.
Rebecca Reisert, the author of more than thirty
plays, has taught high school English, acting, and creative writing
for the past twenty-six years. She has directed four productions of
Macbeth. The recipient of two National Endowment for the
Humanities fellowships, Reisert currently teaches at a nationally
ranked high school in Louisville, Kentucky. She lives in Indiana, and
this is her first novel.
