At the dawn of the second millennium, two royal Scottish children are swept away from their families—Macbeth to the perilous royal court of his grandfather, and Gruach to the remnants of the goddess-worshiping Picts. Macbeth learns that blood bonds are easily severed while Gruach finds her path only to lose it when she’s summoned back to the patriarchal world. Each struggles with gaining and losing power, guided and misguided by prophecy and politics as their paths converge in a fiery bid for royal succession.
Upon the Corner of the Moon separates literary legend from reality, immersing readers in a story about the real rulers who changed the face of Scotland. Some legends are true, and the truth sometimes becomes a legend—or a lie. This novel masterfully dovetails the Macbeth legend and the truth without sacrificing either.

Praise for Upon the Corner of the Moon

“Steeped in the myth, mystery, politics, and culture of Celtic Scotland, Upon the Corner of the Moon presents the world of the young Lady Macbeth and Macbeth with authenticity, a deft hand, and a poet’s voice. Valerie Nieman’s book is a powerful take on two fascinating and enigmatic historical figures.”

—Susan Fraser King, author of Lady Macbeth: A Novel and Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland

“Nieman’s grand and inventive version of the Macbeths takes an epic approach, focusing on a portion of their story before the events made famous by Shakespeare. The result is a sweeping romance rooted in the stark landscape and starker living conditions of the period, replete with historical insight and imaginative richness.”

—A.J. Hartley, UNC-Charlotte Shakespeare scholar, best-selling novelist (Macbeth: A Novel)

“Valerie Nieman’s Upon the Corner of the Moon: A Tale of the Macbeths accomplishes the rare feat of telling a fascinating story within a scholarly reconstruction of early Scotland. Her imagining of the human element behind the historical records creates a compelling insight into individuals who are at the same time familiar and yet compellingly enigmatic. Macbeth, Gruach, and Duncan are presented with their own rivalries, ambitions, and loves. These historical figures are brought to life in Nieman’s remarkable narrative where the reader will be both entertained and educated.”

—Benjamin Hudson, author of Macbeth Before Shakespeare

“Valerie Nieman pulls back the curtain to reveal the brawling, feasting, warring world of the historical Macbeth, Malcolm, and Duncan as well as the gentler world of the trained healer who will become Macbeth’s lady. Nieman’s skill in poetic description soaks the senses and opens up a world I never knew, one inhabited by burial mounds and carved stones and roaring weather and spirit-gods and constant battle that leaves blood soaking the ground—this is a landscape of ancient curses, portent, and ambition. Here are laid bare the cruel games of lineage and the honor of kings, which the healing incantations of women, holy men, and poets bend toward the possibility of honor and unity among kingdoms. My eyes are opened. I can’t wait for the sequel.”

—Marjorie Hudson, author of Indigo Field

“Last we saw of Lady MacBeth, she’d lost her mind and couldn’t clean her bloody hands or her guilty conscience. In Upon the Corner of the Moon, award-winning writer Val Nieman gives us the more authentic story that Shakespeare had borrowed. In her widely researched and deeply imagined historical saga, Nieman takes us to the Kingdom of Alba as Scotland was known in the 11th century, long before tartans and bagpipes. We meet the noble Gruach who is sent north for her own protection as a new king takes the throne, as well as the boy who could grow up to be MacBeth. Nieman goes beyond Shakespeare’s witches, depicting the clash of faiths in the Dark Ages. Gruach finds strength following an ancient Goddess faith that sees the healing power of women, while MacBeth is raised to the patriarchy by Christian monks. A spell-binding saga that builds in suspense toward the couple’s union and toward their end in the famous play, Upon the Corner of the Moon will win over fans of Hillary Mantel’s historical fiction.

—Dale Neal, author of Kings of Coweetsee and The Woman with the Stone Knife

“This is an entertaining, gripping, imaginative novel which brings to life successfully the brutal power struggles and tensions between old and new in the time of Macbeth. I enjoyed this book.”

—Nicholas Evans, author of The King in the North and Picts

“Eleventh-century Britain comes alive in this virtuoso evocation of the time of Macbeth. Valerie Nieman adeptly achieves a narrative style that matches the time, including cadences that echo ancient oral traditions. She renders the complex melding of the myths and religions of the peoples who populated the region, and her imaginative recreation of the political strife and intrigue of the time is captivating. The story lines for Macbeth and his eventual wife, Gruach, are developed in separate arcs that come together at the end with the momentum of destiny.”

—Carolyn Korsmeyer, author of Little Follies: A Mystery at the Millennium

“Upon the Corner of the Moon is a historical retelling of Macbeth that is destined to become a classic. Merging historical fact with legend, Nieman weaves a powerful tale of the man and woman who became two of the most murderous characters in Shakespeare. Lyrical and brutal, Upon the Corner of the Moon shows us the people who shaped the fledging nation of Scotland and how legends are formed.”

—T. Frohock, author of the Los Nefilim series