Macbeth

Kelley's sombre but subtly blood tinged paintings evoke an authentic aura of menace, intrigue, violence and diabolism in this treatment of the most compact of Shakespeare's plays. Coville's prose retelling is admirably clear and brisk, though perhaps the latter quality is somewhat overdone. The author makes the point that the purpose of retelling is to provide an outline of the story that will draw the reader towards the original play, and I am sure that this handsome and slightly scary looking book will succeed in this - the illustrations are highly compelling and some of Shakespeare's dialogue is effectively incorporated into the prose. However, I feel that Coville could have lingered longer and indulged the reader a bit more in depicting some of the struggle and turmoil of the drama, particularly in the climactic episodes of battle, murder and necromancy.