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Macbeth: A Novel
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
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Editorial reviews
As British best-selling crime author David Hewson reflects in his introduction to this innovative project, "the Scottish play" is shrouded in mysteries that are not to be taken lightly. Shakespeare condensed and confused 17 years in the history of a beloved king into a play covering a few days rife with political intrigue and shadowy motivations. In The Bard's tragic canon, Macbeth stands as an anomaly for many reasons, including how short it is and how flat all the characters are besides Macbeth himself. With the help of A.J. Hartley, distinguished professor of Shakespeare at UNC-Charlotte and thriller novelist, Macbeth: A Novel is poised to provide a more complete and fleshy picture of this odd little play.
Going where many other actors would fear to tread is, of course, Alan Cumming. Cumming has a long history with daring characters on stage and on the big screen, as well as his fair share of Shakespeare with a previous turn as Hamlet. With an Audie Award already under his belt, he has the chops necessary to imagine and give voice to paranoid kings and conniving witches, but perhaps one of the greatest joys of his work on Macbeth: A Novel is just the fact of his naturally beautiful Scottish accent left unfettered. Nothing sets the landscape so clearly as listening to those long, rolling vowels come up from a part of the belly that only a Scot must have.
Cumming does not shy away from the devious depths of feeling that Hartley and Hewson have so carefully layered onto the play. No more off-stage murder, no more simply scary witches chanting, and quite a bit more sympathy for this story's many devils. Every poisonous cup and every stab wound are rendered in living battle colors. The three witches are not just weird, but positively demonic, each with their own dynamic contribution to the making of a king. Lady Macbeth and Banquo in particular have personalities that loom as large as Macbeth's familiar form.
A strikingly modern interpretation that nevertheless faithfully adapts Shakespeare's original, this audiobook will surely please a wide variety of listeners. Lovers of mysteries or political thrillers, teachers struggling to blow the dust off a classic for their students, and fans of Shakespeare will all find many reasons to enjoy Hartley and Hewson's fresh presentation. —Megan Volpert
Publisher's summary
Macbeth: A Novel brings the intricacy and grit of the historical thriller to Shakespeare’s tale of political intrigue, treachery, and murder. In this full-length novel written exclusively for audio, authors A. J. Hartley and David Hewson rethink literature’s most infamous married couple, grounding them in a medieval Scotland whose military and political upheavals are as stark and dramatic as the landscape on which they are played.
Macbeth is a war hero and a patriot, doing everything in his power to hold together Duncan’s crumbling kingdom, which is beset by sedition from within and with threats from overseas. But when Duncan, contrary to ancient Scottish tradition, turns to building a family dynasty instead of rewarding those who have borne the brunt of the fighting, Macbeth and his powerful wife, Skena, make plans of their own, plans designed to hold both the nation and their strained relationship together. Sinister figures who claim supernatural knowledge spur them on, but the terrible outcome is as much about accident and failure as it is malevolence. Soon Macbeth and his wife find themselves preeminent in all the land, but struggling to hold themselves and their country together as former friends turn into bitter and deadly enemies.
This is Macbeth as you have not heard it before: fresh, edgy, and vital. It is a story of valor in battle, whispering in shadows, witchcraft in the hollows of an ancient landscape, and the desperate struggle of flawed people to do what they think is right.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
A. J. Hartley, a professor of Shakespeare at the Univ. of North Carolina-Charlotte, is the author of the “Will Hawthorne” fantasy series as well as several thrillers.
David Hewson is the best-selling author of 16 novels, including the Rome-based “Nic Costa” crime series.
ABOUT THE NARRATOR
Alan Cumming stars in CBS's The Good Wife, for which he received an Emmy nomination, and is the host of PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery. He was honored with the 2011 Audie Award for Best Male Narrator.
The Irish folk song “She Moved Through the Fair” is performed by Heather O'Neil of the Irish Repertory Theater.
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- By: David Hewson
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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When a well-known British TV historian, Marmaduke Godolphin, is found murdered in the canals of Venice during carnival, stabbed by a stiletto blade, the Venetian police are eager to have the case solved and cleared up within a day—murder is bad for tourism! The police recruit the help of retired archivist, Arnold Clover. Godolphin had hired his services on arriving in Venice to help sort through some historical papers of note. These dusty documents may contain previously unknown information about the assassination of the murderer, Lorenzino de' Medici, 500 years previously.
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Mediocre Murders
- By SB on 10-28-22
By: David Hewson
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Macbeth
- Shakespeare Appreciated: (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)
- By: William Shakespeare, Simon Potter, Phil Viner
- Narrated by: Joan Walker, Nick Murchie, Coralyn Sheldon
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Experience Macbeth as a powerful full-cast drama with entertaining and enlightening commentary that explains what's what and who's who as the plot unfolds. To help you get the most out of Shakespeare, the narrator offers historical insights and background information, so you can enjoy the jokes, appreciate the references, and get a real sense of Shakespeare's world.
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Now I get it...
- By Amazon Customer on 01-23-13
By: William Shakespeare, and others
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Macbeth: A Dagger of the Mind
- By: Harold Bloom
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare's more brilliantly populated plays and remains among the most widely read. Award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom investigates Macbeth's interiority and unthinkable actions with razor-sharp insight, agility, and compassion. He also explores his own personal relationship to the character. The book also becomes an extraordinarily moving argument for literature as a path to and a measure of our humanity.
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Narrative choices at odds with text
- By Bill Bleuel on 04-23-24
By: Harold Bloom
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Death Is a Lonely Business
- By: Ray Bradbury
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Toiling away amid the looming palm trees and decaying bungalows, a struggling young writer (who bears a resemblance to the author) spins fantastic stories from his fertile imagination upon his clacking typewriter. Trying not to miss his girlfriend (away studying in Mexico), the nameless writer steadily crafts his literary effort - until strange things begin happening around him. Starting with a series of peculiar phone calls, the writer then finds clumps of seaweed on his doorstep. But as the incidents escalate, his friends fall victim to a series of mysterious "accidents" - some of them fatal.
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A solid and fun book
- By Phil F. on 03-28-23
By: Ray Bradbury
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A Planet of Blood and Ice
- Cathedrals of Glass Series, Book 1
- By: A. J. Hartley
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Ten teenagers broke behavioral law. Sentenced to be reeducated on the moon of Jerem, they were placed in stasis on the automated ship Phetteron for their six day journey. They never reached their destination. Thrown off course by a computer malfunction, the Phetteron is damaged in an asteroid belt and crash lands on the uninhabited ice planet of Valkrys.
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Magical
- By Joe Barco on 08-10-20
By: A. J. Hartley
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No Fear Shakespeare: Macbeth
- By: SparkNotes
- Narrated by: January LaVoy, Wayne Carr, Eileen Stevens, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.
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Why are you censoring Shakespeare?!
- By T. WASSOM on 02-06-24
By: SparkNotes
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Tales from Shakespeare
- The Lambs' Tales (Puffin Classics)
- By: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb, William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming, Nigel Davenport, Andrew Sachs, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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A perfect introduction for all ages to the breadth and beauty of Shakespeare's work, Tales from Shakespearehas become a classic work in its own right. The tales bring vividly alive the power of Hamlet and Macbeth, the fun of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the drama of The Tempest. Blending detailed narrative with original dialogue and poetic language, they fully convey the wit, wisdom, and imagination of Shakespeare's magnificent plays.
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Not all of the stories
- By GPH on 08-22-18
By: Charles Lamb, and others
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Hamlet: Fully Dramatized Audio Edition
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
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Hamlet, Shakespeare's most popular, and perhaps most puzzling play, follows the form of a "revenge tragedy", in which the hero, Hamlet, seeks vengeance against his father’s murderer, his uncle Claudius, now the king of Denmark. Much of its fascination, however, lies in its uncertainties. This new full-cast recording - based on the most respected edition of Shakespeare's classic - expertly produced by the Folger Theatre, is perfect for students, teachers, and the everyday listener.
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Loved the voice actors
- By Kenni on 11-25-15
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The Mask of Atreus
- By: A. J. Hartley
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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An obscure museum's dead proprietor lies in a secret room surrounded by one of the world's most astonishing collections of Greek antiquities. Only a priceless Mycenaean death mask has been taken, along with the bones of a legendary hero thought to exist only in ancient myth. Looted by the Nazis, the treasures are still being sought by those whose dreams of glory remain undefeated.The mask is an unparalleled discovery that will be a force for devastating retribution in the wrong hands. But by the time museum curator Deborah Miller learns the truth, it may be too late....
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See if you can spot the "twist" (Hint: You can!)
- By Martin on 10-09-12
By: A. J. Hartley
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Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare: Tragedies
- Hamlet; Macbeth; Romeo and Juliet
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: full cast, Paul Scofield, Peggy Ashcroft, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
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Three powerful radio productions from the BBC archives starring Ian McKellen, Ronald Pickup and Paul Scofield and a host of celebrated acting talent. These three legendary plays, performed by some of the best-known theatrical actors of the 20th century, are the perfect way to commemorate England's greatest dramatist.
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Abridged
- By Kindle Customer on 07-08-17
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Macbeth: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Hugh Ross, Harriet Walter
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
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The brave warrior Macbeth allows himself to be persuaded by Lady Macbeth, his wife, to slay good King Duncan and seize the throne of Scotland for himself. Macbeth achieves his ambition, but one murder proves not to be enough as he desperately attempts to eliminate all who might threaten his ill-gotten power. Descending into paranoia, Macbeth achieves his ambition but ravages his soul.
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Best theatrical recording for teaching!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-19-18
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The Tempest
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Sir Ian McKellen, Emilia Fox, Scott Handy, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Sir Ian McKellen, fresh from his performance as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, is Prospero, and heads a strong cast in Shakespeare’s last great play. The wronged duke raises a tempest to shipwreck his old opponents on his island so that he can ensure justice is done. With Emilia Fox as Miranda, Scott Handy in the pivotal role of the sprite Ariel, and Ben Owukwe as Caliban.
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Gandalf is great
- By Justin on 11-10-15
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Shadowmarch
- Shadowmarch, Volume I
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 29 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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For generations the misty Shadowline has marked the boundary between the lands of men and the lost northern lands that are the lair of their inhuman enemies, the ageless Qar. But now that boundary line is moving outward, threatening to engulf the northernmost land in which humans still live - the kingdom of Southmarch.
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It's the characters that matter...
- By JC on 11-09-10
By: Tad Williams
What listeners say about Macbeth: A Novel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- A
- 12-29-11
An interesting experiment
You always remember your first--and way back in 5th grade, Macbeth was my first venture into Shakespeare. Miss Weil loved Shakespeare and she introduced her class to the magic. Macbeth--in iambic pentameter-- was our 5th grade play. It is still my favorite Shakespeare. That said, I was just not sure how I would react to a novelization of the story.
Surprisingly, I stuck it out to the end-- and surprisingly, I didn't hate it. I didn't love it entirely either but that was because there were places where I just didn't agree with Hartley and Hewson's interpretation of events and motivations. However, I learned a lot about the historical background of the play and perhaps got a better idea of what life was like in those times. In short, it gave me a better understanding of the play.
Nonetheless, the novel stands on its own; its a good read. You don't need to know Shakespeare's play to get through the story. You don't have to be a Lit. major to enjoy it. In fact, you might even be better off not arriving with so much baggage.
Finally, kudos to the narrator Alan Cummings--and to the person who chose him. The book may have been written in prose but it read like poetry. Not since I heard Lisette Lescat read the 'No.1 Ladies' Detective' series have I heard such a perfect pairing of material and reader.
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15 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-07-11
Fantastic all around - The BEST
This is without a doubt the best way to introduce Shakesper - I've read seen just about every interpretation of Macbetha dn this is by far the best. Makes it come alive, somehow even makes it relevant to today.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Erik
- 10-28-14
Makes Macbeth accessible to everyone
This was surprisingly good. Given the expert execution of the story by Shakespeare in his play, I was betting that the novelized version wouldn't be able to do as well. I was wrong.
In the preamble the authors explain their reasons for expanding the story into a novel. In this, they do very well and round out the characters and back stories even more. I think the characters to most benefit the story are the 3 hags, as they are really brought to life in this book.
The other benefit of this version of Macbeth is the ease of reading/listening. If Shakespearean prose has kept you away from these works before, have no fear here and experience why this story has such power even after all this time.
The narrator was ideally suited to this book. His accent, inflection, and cadence made the experience very pleasurable. All this make this book highly recommended!
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5 people found this helpful
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- BVerité
- 08-04-13
Wow!! Really good! Excellent!
What an amazing book! The authors of this really transformed a Shakespearean play into a fascinating, accessible historical novel. The performance is extraordinary. The authors use lyrical prose that flows naturally, as opposed to a rigid adherence to awkward Shakespearean dialogue.
It's just a really great historical novel. I listened in one sitting!
I had read much of Shakespeare's work, but somehow I never read Macbeth. So it's a double treat for me!
I hope to see more from this writing team!
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5 people found this helpful
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- Paula
- 12-10-12
Shakespeare's genius . . . in normal language!
If you could take one of the best dramas of all time, the genius of Shakespeare's tragic characters, and some exciting historical elements, and imagine it as a "screenplay" of sorts, you could easily end up with something like this novel. For those who love the plot twists of Shakespeare but are exasperated with "Elizabethan English" written in iambic pentameter (what?!), this book is the perfect solution. Authors Hartley and Hewson take the best parts of the classic story and infuse them with a modern tempo and exciting language,
Many characters, especially Lady Macbeth but also many minor characters, are far more detailed in this version of Macbeth. The dialogue is tense and realistic, the characters flawed and gritty, and the actions scenes vivid and electric. Even the three witches each get their own personalities and back stories. Whether you are a fan of Shakespeare, or just a fan of good historical drama, this book will not disappoint. I am even inspired to go back and re-read the play, knowing I will have a much deeper understanding after having listened to this novel!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jim R. Whitt Jr.
- 04-19-12
A superb novelization!
Macbeth has always been my favorite Shakespeare work, except perhaps Henry V. The fact that Star Trek spoofed Halloween in their only "holiday episode" doesn't hurt. I felt transported back to those troubled times in Scotland. The weird sisters were spooky, Macbeth a dedicated patriot who went too far. Lady Macbeth, who had personal demons that ripped a hole in her soul that couldn't be mended. The sights, sounds, smells - everything from that time and place are here. The descriptions of the land, the sea, the plant life - outstanding. I do understand those who complained about the length of the novel versus the play. I think some of the aftermath of Duncan's death could have been trimmed, but not a lot. To use the movie rating scale, in case you're not familiar with the story, it is a "hard" R - lots of explicit violence, explicit or implied sex, adult themes such as power and how to hold it. Last but certainly not least, Mr. Cumming's performance was impeccable. Despite its mature nature, I heartily recommend it.
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- Lynn Abbott-McCloud
- 11-02-11
Shakespeare is applauding!
This adaptation is absolutely BRILLIANT! Hartley and Hewson make Macbeth extremely readable and accessible. I wish this outstanding book had been available when I studied Macbeth in high school. Alan Cumming brings the characters to life - he's remarkable! Overall, this is a "can't stop listening" kind of book. I look forward to listening to it all over again.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Barbara
- 10-25-11
Wow!
Fabulous in every way! One of the best narrations ever! These guys should turn all of The Bard's plays into novels!
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- Veronica
- 12-12-11
could not stop listening
What did you love best about Macbeth: A Novel?
this is an amazing telling of Macbeths story. We may think we know the story from reading Shakespeares version but after listening to this retelling of the story you really can get into the characters, especially the three witches.
Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?
The three witches come to life in this telling.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The ending is so compelling-taking you years into Scotland's future.
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- myz
- 03-26-12
Excellent Performance of a remastered Classic
What made the experience of listening to Macbeth: A Novel the most enjoyable?
Alan Cummings performance brings this story to life and he does a wonderful job with the various accents and voices that makes it exceedingly engaging and enjoyable, despite knowing the story already.
Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?
Alan Cummings did all the characters, but I especially enjoyed his Banqo. He even managed the womens voices, which is often the downfall of a male narrator.
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2 people found this helpful