Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland

Based on the lives of Saint Margaret of Scotland and King Malcolm III in eleventh-century Scotland, this novel follows a young Saxon princess who is shipwrecked on the Scottish coast. She and her family, including the outlawed Edgar of England, seek sanctuary from the warrior-king Malcolm Canmore, who agrees to aid Edgar's cause in exchange for Margaret's hand in marriage. As a foreign queen in an unfamiliar land, Margaret adapts to Scottish life, bears princes, and influences Malcolm to become a more sophisticated ruler. The couple builds a passionate partnership, though the Scots remain distrustful of her. When Malcolm brings Eva, a Celtic bard, to court as a hostage connected to Lady Macbeth, an unexpected friendship develops between the queen and the bard—one wild and Celtic in nature, the other bound by duty and obligation. Eva finds herself torn between conflicting loyalties and bound by a vow to betray the king and queen. When imprisoned and accused of witchcraft and treason, Eva's fate rests with Queen Margaret, who must decide whether to forgive such deep betrayal. The novel explores shifting alliances and the tension between fear and trust as Margaret navigates a dangerous world.