Enter Three Witches

Enter Three Witches by Caroline Cooney is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from the viewpoint of a young, fourteen year old Lady Mary, a ward of Lord and Lady Macbeth’s. Lady Mary is looking forward to a bright future, being betrothed to a handsome young man and soon to become mistress of her own castle. Then her father is exposed and executed as a traitor along with her betrothed and Mary’s life is changed forever.

Friendless and on the very fringe of society, Mary is in a position to observe and when King Duncan is murdered and his two sons have fled, she knows that they were not responsible and that the real murderer is being given Duncan’s crown.

With lots of action and drama, the author puts her own stamp on this YA show more retelling. She scatters her own characters across the stage and builds her story all the while keeping the integrity of the play intact. Each chapter opens with a line from the original play giving us a taste of Shakespeare’s rich, descriptive language. While I personally wasn’t totally swept away, I believe this Macbeth fan-fiction would make a great introduction to Shakespeare for middle-school aged children. show less

Soldiers are gathering throughout Scotland, preparing for a great battle against the traitor who stands against the much-loved King Duncan, but nothing prepared Lady Mary for the news that her own father was a traitor to the crown and that her betrothed was killed in battle. Now Mary fears for her own life, especially as she slowly comes to realize the depths her guardians Lord and Lady MacBeth are willing to plumb in order to satisfy their cravings for power. Mary is trapped in a castle with nothing to warn her who not to trust except the pricking of her thumbs…

Enter Three Witches was a creepy atmospheric story set in gloomy castles among the fog-ridden bogs of Scotland crawling with witches demanding sacrifice and eager to share show more ominous portends of things to come. And mixed up in the middle of the intrigues of Shakespeare's Scottish play are fourteen-year-old Mary whose rich inherited lands make her a tantalizing matrimonial prize and Banquo's son Fleance whose need to prove himself keeps landing him in difficult situations. I really liked these two main characters (especially Fleance) and enjoyed reading the sections told from their point of view. Mary in particular is resourceful and brave, and she never felt unrealistic to me.

But however much I liked Mary, and for all the Shakespeare quotes sprinkled throughout, I felt that the most climactic bits of the play (Birnam Wood marching on Dunsinane; the final battle) were given only fleeting treatment in the book which seemed a shame. But the rich background Cooney gives the characters of the original play (and those that she adds) make for a compelling read - and one that had me reaching for my copy of Shakespeare as the author exhorts at the end.

I would definitely recommend Enter Three Witches for those struggling to get into Shakespeare's play - of for those that want a creepy Gothic young adult book to curl up with on a dreary day.

Also posted at A Hoyden's Look at Literature show less

Narrated by Charlotte Parry. In this retelling of Shakespeare's "Macbeth," young people witness the power-hungry rise and fall of Lord and Lady Macbeth. There is Mary, daughter of the traitor Cawdor and lady-in-waiting to Lady Macbeth. Illdreth (excuse mispellings; I listened to the book) is maid to Mary and keeps a dark secret involving Seaton. Seaton is Macbeth's lackey, facilitating murders of those who would be in Macbeth's way. Fleance is son of Banquo and seeks to avenge his father's murder at Seaton's hands. And Swin is a scullery maid, keenly aware of the goings-on at Inverness castle. It was a bit of a slog to get through and I was at first distracted by the frequent insertion of lines from the play which interrupted the flow show more of the story (would have made sense to me in print). But Charlotte Parry's Scottish accent work is superb and gives the story atmosphere. show less

Q4, P4

I really enjoyed this book because I think it's a great way to introduce young people to Shakespeare. The book gives the main gist of the story of Macbeth, but through the eyes of a young lady who, due to her father's actions, finds her circumstances diminished from a ward of Macbeth to a scullery maid in Macbeth's castle. By including quotes from the actual play as the subject headings AND as dialog that is overheard by the story's characters while maintaining the main storyline in modern English, it introduces Shakespearean English in a way that is understandable to kids.

Enter Three Witches is the tale of Macbeth through the story of Mary, a teen ward to Lord and Lady Macbeth. Chapters are organized into the acts and scenes of the original play. Mary struggles against the tragedy, while bodies fall around her. The novel incorporates not only the events but also much of the famous text into Mary’s story.

“ “I am told, Lady Mary,” said the King, “that this will be your fourth betrothal. A high number for one so young. You are a dangerous woman.” “ (pg. 278)

Reviewed by Jessica Cave for TeensReadToo.com

Caroline B. Cooney takes Shakespeare's MACBETH to new heights with ENTER THREE WITCHES.

Lady Mary is set for life. She has a bright future complete with a betrothal to a handsome boy, a castle of her own, and more than she could ever want. When her father is hanged for treachery, that bright future is ripped from her fingers. Instead, she becomes a maid in the household of Lord and Lady Macbeth, a dangerously powerful couple who will do anything to get their way.

As people drop dead and the events from MACBETH unfold around Mary, she finds that life is harder than she once believed.

This novel is enchanting, but difficult to follow at times. It bounces from character to character within the show more chapter, allowing you to see all that is happening at once. Ms. Cooney ties the novel in with Shakespeare's MACBETH using both events and quotes taken directly from the play. This is definitely recommended for the history buff or Shakespeare fan. show less

This book is a retelling of McBeth through the eyes of a young lady at court, who is almost immediately made an orphan and ward of the court by the hanging of her father, Lord Cawdor for treason. Thus the story is told by someone completely, or virtually at the mercy of the MacBeth because of this the tale of their dissolution is even more terrifying. Although I have read and seen MacBeth, several times and enjoyed it reading this book made me realize I should go back and read it again.