Heir to a Prophecy
By Mercedes Rochelle
Shakespeare's Witches tell Banquo, "Thou Shalt 'Get Kings Though
Thou Be None". Though Banquo is murdered, his son Fleance gets away. What
happened to Fleance? What Kings?
The road to kingship had a most inauspicious beginning, and we follow Fleance into exile and death, passing the Witches' prophecy to his son Walter. Born on the wrong side of the blanket and raised in disgrace, Walter was caught inside of a destiny he barely understood. In an effort to untangle Banquo's murder and honor his lineage, Walter moved through events that shaped the course of England and Scotland. His relationships with the great men of his time drove his destiny: Harold Godwineson, Alain of Brittany and finally Malcolm III. After a long and treacherous journey through Wales, England, and France, Walter fulfilled the witches’ prophecy as the first Steward of Scotland and ancestor of James I—for whom Shakespeare wrote Macbeth.
The road to kingship had a most inauspicious beginning, and we follow Fleance into exile and death, passing the Witches' prophecy to his son Walter. Born on the wrong side of the blanket and raised in disgrace, Walter was caught inside of a destiny he barely understood. In an effort to untangle Banquo's murder and honor his lineage, Walter moved through events that shaped the course of England and Scotland. His relationships with the great men of his time drove his destiny: Harold Godwineson, Alain of Brittany and finally Malcolm III. After a long and treacherous journey through Wales, England, and France, Walter fulfilled the witches’ prophecy as the first Steward of Scotland and ancestor of James I—for whom Shakespeare wrote Macbeth.
"I've come to help avenge Banquo's death."
Malcolm smiled sadly.
"Then you shall not leave my side until it is done."
Walter knew nothing of his ancestry, only that he was
illegitimate and his grandfather, Gruffydd ap Llewelyn, had cast out his
daughter, Walter's mother, Nesta, and murdered Fleance, Walter's father. Walter
knew nothing of his father's past until he was visited by three mysterious old
women, who spoke of prophecy and destinies and other such dangerous things.
Walter has two choices. He could ignore the old hags and
live the life he wanted. Or, he could take heed of their warning and follow the
path they laid out before him and become The First Stuart of Scotland.
From a desperate escape from assassins to the crowning of
the rightful King of Scotland, Heir to a Prophecy by Mercedes Rochelle is the
utterly compelling story of how Banquo's grandson paved the way for a
generation of kings.
Those who have read Shakespeare's infamous Scottish play
will be familiar with brave and valiant Banquo, who like Macbeth failed to
understand the cost of the weird women's prophecy, nor was he prepared for the
ugly realisation that if he were indeed the father of kings then Macbeth, his
dearest friend, would become a dagger hidden in the shadows of the night.
*"Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly," Banquo cried if you recall, for the instruments of darkness so often tell the truth, and thus Banquo dies. Rochelle has picked up the story from that remarkable play and has taken her readers with good Fleance as he flees for his life. But how did Banquo's son go on to father the Stuart dynasty? In this remarkable work of Historical Fiction, Rochelle has presented her readers with a plausible answer but without losing the essence, the superstition and the mythical element that is so prevalent in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Rochelle has stuck with tradition and allowed the Three Witches to control the narrative and, of course, toy with the protagonists. By doing this, Rochelle has not only captured the very essence of Shakespeare's play, but she has given us a story that is rich and vibrant and utterly compelling from start to finish. Heir to a Prophecy is the type of book that one will forego sleep to finish, and it is also one that would be next to impossible to forget.
Although Heir to a Prophecy opens with Banquo's death and
Fleance's subsequent flight to Wales, it is Fleance's son, Walter, whose story
this really is. Born a bastard, Walter is on first encounter, seemingly inconsequential.
He comes from nothing. He is nobody. His mother, Princess Nesta, daughter of
Gruffydd ap Llewelyn, had been thrown unceremoniously from Court and has been
disowned by her family because of her love affair with Fleance. With a
tremendous strength of spirit and a dogged determined to battle on, Nesta makes
the best of a bad situation. I adored Nesta. She has such capacity for love and
is yet used so cruelly by her father. His disappointment, his anger, leaves no
room for reason. Lost and alone, without her lover, Nesta is determined to
bring up her child the best way she can. How can you not admire such a
character for that?
Walter is a troubled youth. He knows nothing of his
father's heritage until the night he encounters the same three women who had
visited his grandfather and King Macbeth in a heath near Forres. Unlike, Macbeth, Walter does not want to hear the weird women's prophecy, nor does he want to heed it, although he has sense enough to fear it. We, lucky readers, witness Walter's struggle with who he is and what he has seen. We watch him become a temperamental youth to a knight of honour. We follow him in battle and love. We watch him become the man he was destined to be. I thought Rochelle really nailed Walter's characterisation. He isn't this elevated man of goodness who his grandfather is portrayed as being. Walter makes terrible mistakes and conscientious decisions which have consequences — consequences that he is willing to answer. Walter is an incredibly complex character who has many layers which makes him endlessly fascinating. He is a fantastic protagonist who drives this story forward. It was an absolute pleasure, nay privilege, to read his story.
As one would expect from this time, there are, along with
Walter, a host of historical characters. From Malcolm III Canmore: King of
Scotland to the bastard Norman, William the Conqueror. All of these historical
characters bring something unique to the narrative. Malcolm was a character who
I liked very much, whereas William — he certainly knew how to plan a battle.
Rochelle pens historical figures such as Harold Godwinson with an elegant sweep
of her quill. Rochelle has breathed life into this vast cast of historical
figures, and she has portrayed them in a remarkably realistic way — paying
close attention, of course, to the historical sources from this time. I thought
the portrayal of all the characters I encountered in this novel was brilliantly
executed.
The historical scope of this book is vast. This was a
time of warriors and kings, where the fate of a nation was decided upon a
battlefield, as was petty grievances. Heir to a Prophecy is at times incredibly
violent as war plays out between the pages. When it comes to battle scenes they
can either make or break a book — Rochelle has captured the desperation, the
fear, the sights, the smells, the abject terror and the anticlimactic relief
when it was all over. The battle scenes are brilliantly portrayed in this
novel. Rochelle has painted a very vivid picture of war and what it was like
during the 11th Century. Kudos Ms Rochelle. Kudos indeed.
With a nod to Shakespeare, and with a keen sense of the
era and the people that dominated it, Rochelle has presented her readers with a
book that is immensely readable and thoroughly entertaining. Reading Heir to a
Prophecy is like taking a spontaneous trip through time to a dark and dangerous
past where heroes were born, and legends were made.
If you are looking for your next great Historical Fiction
read, then look no further than Heir to a Prophecy by Mercedes Rochelle, for
within the pages of this book you will witness exiled friends fight for the
right to return home. And you will stand shoulder to shoulder, and you will
finally cry *"Hail, King of Scotland!"
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.
* Shakespeare,William — Macbeth Act 3, Scene 3 (Wordsworth Limited Edition 1996)
Pick up your copy of
Heir to a Prophecy
Mercedes Rochelle
Born in St. Louis MO with a degree from University of
Missouri, Mercedes Rochelle learned about living history as a re-enactor and
has been enamored with historical fiction ever since. A move to New York to do
research and two careers ensued, but writing fiction remains her primary
vocation. She lives in Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they
had built themselves.
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See you on your next coffee break!
Take Care,
Mary Anne xxx