HFVBT: Mercedes Rochelle's Heir to a Prophecy - Review

My thoughts
Some of my favorite historical novels are retellings of famous literary works, or stories surrounding supporting characters from those works. So Heir to a Prophecy was a book that intrigued me from my first reading of the synopsis. Centering around the (short) life of Banquo, his son, Fleance, and the three witches, and mainly their prophecy concerning Banquo and his descendants, from Shakespeare's MacBeth, the book is an exciting incite into what Shakespeare intended...that Banquo was the founder of the royal Stewart (Stuart) line.

This is an interesting and engaging story surrounding the history of Scotland, England and Wales in the 11th century. There is a lot of war and battles, but not overwhelmingly so. The character of Walter, his complexity, balances out the big action parts. As the grandson of Banquo, and son of Fleance, Walter has a lot of revenge on his plate. As the story progresses, we get to see what moves Walter and what makes him the man he becomes.

This being her first book of fiction, I am very impressed. It's obvious that Rochelle is passionate about history and knows her stuff to boot. The historical accuracy and detail in this book is amazing. Her next book is titled, Godwine Kingmaker, and I can't wait to read it!

About the book

Publication Date: December 12, 2014
Top Hat Books
Paperback; 418p
ISBN: 978-1-78279-754-8
Genre: Historical Fiction

READ AN EXCERPT.

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? As Shakespeare’s audience apparently knew, Banquo was the ancestor of the royal Stewart line. But the road to kingship had a most inauspicious beginning, and we follow Fleance into exile and death, bestowing the Witches’ prophecy on his illegitimate son Walter. Born in Wales and raised in disgrace, Walter’s efforts to understand Banquo’s murder and honor his lineage take him on a long and treacherous journey through England and France before facing his destiny in Scotland.

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About the Author

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. She lives in Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they built themselves.

For more information please visit Mercedes Rochelle’s website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook and Goodreads.

A copy of this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for providing it.