Vile Lady Villains

I didn’t know my life was missing a story where Lady Macbeth (yes, the one from Shakespeare) and Klytemnestra (from Greek mythology - this version seems to be the one from Aeschylus’ play Agamemnon) were plucked from their respective stories and brought together in a sapphic horrormance until I read Vile Lady Villains by Danai Christopoulou.

When Lady Macbeth, probably soon after her most famous “Out, damned spot” monologue, drinks a potion given to her by the three witches, she is transported to a realm where she opens a door to find Klytemnestra, covered in her husband’s blood. When a wraith-like figure appears, they flee back into the liminal realm and to their now intertwined fates.

I loved everything about this book:

• Seeing Anassa (Lady Macbeth) and Claret (Klytemnestra) have their own agency and break out of their stories which are defined by their relationships to their husbands (not to mention the other characters which get the same)

• The meta-storytelling as they find themselves in the realm of stories where the goddess who is The Mistress of the House of Books (that’s the title I want to have!) keeps the realm safe by keeping everyone in their own story - which means Anassa and Claret are at odds with the goddess because they refuse to stay confined to their paths.

• The imagery of the raven-black and blood-red cloaks given to Anassa and Claret and the way they come into play throughout

If you love Shakespeare or liminal spaces or meta-storytelling or feminine rage or strong women or horror with a little romance, this Vile Lady Villains is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for the advance copy for my unbiased review.