Today I'm delighted to share with you all a spotlight for Joel H. Morris' new release, All Our Yesterdays, out tomorrow, March 12th! This is a debut historical fiction novel that follows the life of the young Lady Macbeth years before the events of Shakespeare's play takes place. I was shocked that this was Morris' debut novel, as it is both ambitious and excellently executed with engaging and eloquent prose. Below, you'll find some information about the book including a brief a synopsis, some early praise, and some additional information about the author. Be sure to have a look–and happy reading!
Author: Joel H. Morris - Website
Pub. Date: March 12th, 2024
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Pages: 363
Find it: Amazon | Bookshop.org
Pub. Date: March 12th, 2024
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Pages: 363
Find it: Amazon | Bookshop.org
SYNOPSIS:
“A propulsive and piercing debut, set ten years before the events of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, about the ambition, power, and fate that define one of literature’s most notorious figures: Lady Macbeth Scotland, 11th Century. Born into a noble household and granddaughter of a forgotten Scottish king, a young girl carries the guilt of her mother’s death and the weight of an unknowable prophecy. When she is married at fifteen to the Mormaer of Moray, she experiences the violence of a sadistic husband and a kingdom constantly at war. To survive with her young son in a superstitious realm, she must rely on her own cunning and wit, especially when her husband’s downfall inadvertently sets them free.
Suspicious of the dark devices that may have led to his father’s death, her son watches as his mother falls in love with the enigmatic thane Macbeth. Now a woman of stature, Lady Macbeth confronts a world of masculine power and secures the protection of her family. But the coronation of King Duncan and the political maneuvering of her cousin Macduff set her on a tragic course, one where her own success might mean embracing the very curse that haunts her and risking the child she loves."
Early Praise:
“[A] beautiful interpretation, which is so rich in its descriptions and well-crafted characters. . . A most enjoyable setup for the Scottish play.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“All characters are drawn with inventiveness and depth. . . Entirely illuminating. . . [A] beautifully realized tale of a daughter, mother, and wife ultimately at the mercy of Fate’s unknowable interventions.” – Booklist
“A gorgeous evocation of a mother and son in a prison of their own too-powerful story, All Our Yesterdays is a triumph of both research and imagination, a heartbreaking and revelatory read.” – Jennifer Croft, author of The Extinction of Irena Rey
“Intriguing. . . Crisp, no-nonsense prose conveys the narrative’s gathering darkness [and] Morris intelligently explores the era’s gender dynamics. . . [An] entertaining prequel to Shakespeare’s complex and haunting tragedy.” – Publishers Weekly
“[A] wonderfully atmospheric novel. Morris drops the reader into a fully realized 11th-century world with all the sights and sounds. Carefully chosen words and small details shape this fearful and foreboding world. . . [A] rich study of one of the most vilified literary characters.” – Historical Novels Review
“As sharp and cutting as an obsidian dagger, Joel H. Morris’s All Our Yesterdays dives deep into Lady Macbeth’s backstory, replacing desire with fear, calculation with grief, and loss, not ambition, as the spark that ignites her bloody journey. You’ll never read Shakespeare’s play the same way again.” – Liz Michalski, author of Darling Girl
“All characters are drawn with inventiveness and depth. . . Entirely illuminating. . . [A] beautifully realized tale of a daughter, mother, and wife ultimately at the mercy of Fate’s unknowable interventions.” – Booklist
“A gorgeous evocation of a mother and son in a prison of their own too-powerful story, All Our Yesterdays is a triumph of both research and imagination, a heartbreaking and revelatory read.” – Jennifer Croft, author of The Extinction of Irena Rey
“Intriguing. . . Crisp, no-nonsense prose conveys the narrative’s gathering darkness [and] Morris intelligently explores the era’s gender dynamics. . . [An] entertaining prequel to Shakespeare’s complex and haunting tragedy.” – Publishers Weekly
“[A] wonderfully atmospheric novel. Morris drops the reader into a fully realized 11th-century world with all the sights and sounds. Carefully chosen words and small details shape this fearful and foreboding world. . . [A] rich study of one of the most vilified literary characters.” – Historical Novels Review
“As sharp and cutting as an obsidian dagger, Joel H. Morris’s All Our Yesterdays dives deep into Lady Macbeth’s backstory, replacing desire with fear, calculation with grief, and loss, not ambition, as the spark that ignites her bloody journey. You’ll never read Shakespeare’s play the same way again.” – Liz Michalski, author of Darling Girl
About the Author:
(bio from author's website)
Joel H. Morris is the author of All Our Yesterdays, his debut novel. He has worked most recently as an English teacher and, for the past twenty years has taught language and literature. He is the recipient of a year-long Fulbright Research Scholarship for archival research in Germany. Prior to earning a doctorate in comparative literature, he spent several years as a bookseller before joining a small maritime expedition company as a sailor. His essays, translations, and stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Lit Hub, Electric Literature, Crime Reads, Michigan Quarterly Review, Copper Nickel, Pembroke Magazine, and others. He lives in Colorado.
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