“Then she said, ‘Thorfinn!’ quickly, and moved to him; but had hardly got to his side before he loosed his fingers and thumbs and plunged them down to the mattress like spear-points.
‘No! Macbeth. Macbeth. Macbeth!’ The name reached her like sling-shot.
Groa said, ‘They are the same man. I should know. I married both.’”
I couldn’t wait to read this book having loved Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles and House of Niccolo series so much when I read them last year. King Hereafter, her only standalone historical novel, is set in eleventh-century Orkney and Scotland (known at that time as Alba) and is based around the idea that Macbeth, the historical King of Alba, and Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney, were the same person – Macbeth being Thorfinn’s baptismal name. Whether that might be true or not, the case she puts forward in this book is very convincing and obviously the result of an enormous amount of research. The novel follows Thorfinn throughout his entire life and along the way there are battles, both on land and at sea, fires, storms, births, deaths, political intrigue and even a race across the oars of a longboat. We also meet other historical figures of the time including King Canute and Lady Godiva – but at the heart of the story, for me, is Thorfinn’s love for his wife, Groa.
I loved this book, although the combination of unfamiliar history, complex politics and intricate relationships between the characters meant that it required a huge amount of concentration and a lot of referring to the centre pages of the book which contained three maps of Orkney, Alba and England, and two family trees. I would have been completely lost without these maps and charts; I found myself consulting them constantly – and even then there were some relationships that still weren’t quite clear to me. Added to the fact that my edition of the book had 880 pages (not the same as the one pictured here, by the way), it seemed to take me nearly as long to read this one book as it did to read the entire Lymond Chronicles! That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, when a book is as good as this one is.
Before I go any further I should point out that King Hereafter is not a retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and there is really very little resemblance between Dunnett’s story and Shakespeare’s, although she does quote from the play in the section headings and there are some references to events that are also in the play, such as ‘Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane’. Some of the basic plot points are the same – yes, Thorfinn/Macbeth becomes King of Alba after the death of King Duncan, for example, but the circumstances surrounding Duncan’s death are very different from the murder Shakespeare describes. And thankfully, Groa is a far more likeable character than Lady Macbeth. The three witches don’t appear either, though instead we have Groa’s son, Lulach, and his prophecies (I suspect that to really be able to make any sense of most of Lulach’s cryptic comments you need to know how the rest of the story is going to play out and to be familiar with some of the historical sources too).
I loved Thorfinn from his very first appearance. I could see some similarities between Thorfinn and Dunnett’s other heroes, Lymond and Nicholas, but in other ways he is quite different. This is the moment we meet him for the first time as a child, seen through the eyes of his foster father, Thorkel Fostri:
“Not the complaining Earl Brusi. Not the lovely young Rognvald his son. But a scowling juvenile, thin as a half-knotted thong, with a monstrous brow topped by a whisk of black hair over two watering eyes, thick as acorns.
It raised one arm and called. Its voice had not even started to break.
‘Thorfinn,’ said Thorkel, and the word itself was a groan. Here in Norway, here in Nídarós, here on King Olaf’s jetty was the child-Earl of Caithness and Orkney. His foster-son.”
We soon see that Thorfinn’s unattractive exterior hides a shrewd brain, great physical ability, wit, courage and, although we are told that he never laughs, a wry sense of humour too. He is capable of all the plotting, scheming and negotiating that is necessary to keep up with the ever-changing rivalries and alliances between various leaders, while also dealing with the threats from England, Norway and Denmark and trying to do what is best for his people of Orkney, Caithness, Moray and the rest of Alba. As with Lymond and Nicholas we are rarely given the privilege of getting inside Thorfinn’s head; instead we see him mostly from the perspective of the people around him, which can be either insightful or misleading depending on how well these viewpoint characters understand him.
Groa is a great character too and is now one of my favourite female characters in all of Dunnett’s novels. The story of how she and Thorfinn come to love and understand each other is beautifully written and it was wonderful to watch their relationship develop over the course of the novel. Apart from the relationship between Thorfinn and Groa, the other one I found particularly fascinating and complex was the relationship between Thorfinn and his nephew, Rognvald. The encounters between the two of them throughout the first half of the book provided what, for me, were some of the most dramatic and exciting scenes in the book.
Thorfinn does have a lot of ambition, but unlike Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it’s not because he’s looking for personal glory or has been encouraged by his ruthless Lady; his ambition is to improve life in his lands and give his people a strong ruler, uniting the disparate, diverse tribes of Orkney and Alba under a common religion and common laws. On the subject of religion, I did get very confused somewhere in Part 3, where Thorfinn visits Pope Leo in Rome. Actually, a lot of the religious aspects of the story in general confused me and that’s something I would attempt to understand better on a re-read. I tried not to worry too much about the things I couldn’t understand on this first read and instead concentrated on getting to know Thorfinn, Groa and the other characters, and enjoying the beautiful writing. The descriptions of the landscapes of Orkney and Alba are so vivid and evocative. This is one that I particularly loved:
They entered Loch Bracadale with the sunrise, rose-coloured oars laying darkling folds on the rose-tinted pool of the fjord. A dusting of guillemots, asleep on the water, roused and dived with almost no sound, leaving pink and verdigris rings on the surface. A charcoal rock needled with cormorants became suddenly bare, and from the shore came the scalloped cry of an oyster-catcher, joined after a moment by others. Then the longships slid past, and the sounds died away.
Although the Lymond Chronicles are still my favourites, I can definitely see why some people would consider this Dorothy Dunnett’s best book. It’s amazingly detailed and well-researched, as well as being a very powerful and emotional story. The only problem with reading a book like this is that when you know there can only be one outcome to the story and that there’s no chance of a happy ending, it makes the build-up to the conclusion difficult to read. The end of Thorfinn’s story was inevitable but still heartbreakingly sad.
I’m sorry I don’t have any more of Dunnett’s historical novels to look forward to, but I will try her Johnson Johnson mystery series at some point – and like all of Dunnett’s books I’m sure re-reading King Hereafter in the future will also be a rewarding experience!
She Reads Novels 
Helen, this is amazing timing! I’ve literally just started reading this – I’m on about chapter 10 at the moment – so although I haven’t read your post yet, of course, I’ll be back as soon as I’m done. Talk about great minds thinking alike… 🙂 As I said, I haven’t yet read what you’ve said, but I hope you enjoyed it! More soon when I’m in a more of a position to discuss it.
I’ll look forward to hearing your thoughts on it when you’ve finished, Leander – I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I did!
I’m fascinated by this time period, but don’t think I’ve read much fiction set there. The Name of the Rose, maybe? I think that’s even hundreds of years after 11th century. Very interesting!
Yes, it is a fascinating period and one that’s not covered in historical fiction novels very often. I can only think of one or two others that I’ve read. The Name of the Rose was the 13th or 14th century, I think – I can’t remember as it’s been so long since I read it!
I’m pleased to read your description and impressions. Interestingly, this was the only book of Dunnett’s (including both the Lymond and Niccolo series as well as the murder mysteries) that I couldn’t get into and gave up on read. I tend not to like single books that follow an entire life, because they are too episodic for my taste. (Contrast the Lymond Chronicles which took six books to get through just a decade of Francis’s life.)
So I’m pleased to read how enthusiastic you are about King Hereafter. I *might* be tempted to try it again sometime. 🙂
Sorry to hear you had to give up on this one, Phyl. I think standalone books and books that are part of a series each have their good points and bad points – I don’t really have a preference for one or the other. Good luck if you do decide to try King Hereafter again!
I had never known of anyone else who had read it, so it’s certainly helped to hear another opinion. 🙂
I found KH much more comprehensible when I went back to it after reading Anand’s GILDENFORD, which has some of the same characters – Sigurd of York, Godiva, Emma… and deal with some of the same political issues. Anand’s take was different, but just seeing those characters and issues again from different POV helped me fix them in memory.
I do think it is probably Dunnett’s single best book, but it isn’t an easy read; it is way too dense. When it first came out, it was marketed as a beach book, which I thought (even then) was appallyingly misguided.
Can you articulate your puzzlement over the religious issues? I am aware that there was a Celtic Church which tended to slip into Pelagianism, and had some different traditions and had difficulties coming to terms once Rome started reaching out again. There was a big hoo-hah over the date of Easter, too, which was settled at … the Synod of Whitby, IIRC.
I would find it hard to remember and specify exactly which parts confused me – I should really have been making notes of my questions as I read. I know I found some of the discussions during and after the meetings with the Pope difficult to follow, and also some of Thorfinn’s conversations with Sulien.
I’m amazed that this book could ever have been marketed as a beach read!
I’ve read this twice now, and it is definitely my favorite Dunnett. I love it so much, especially the two relationships you mention. The dynamics in both are so satisfyingly complex.
I wish I could remember more about the religious issues that came up. I don’t remember finding that aspect of it particularly confusing, but I did get lost in the politics many times, even on the second read. But like you, I find that with Dunnett I get enough enjoyment just concentrating on the characters. The details are for future readings, and even then, I don’t sweat them all.
I’m rereading Disorderly Knights right now and will be getting into my favorite part of the book tonight!
If I had tried to understand everything on a first read I would never have managed to finish the book! I’m looking forward to re-reading this and also the Lymond and Niccolo books so that I can give more attention to some of the details I missed the first time.
I hope you’re enjoying your re-read of The Disorderly Knights. I wonder if your favourite part of the book is the same as mine!
Helen, what a marvelous review – you’ve really done justice to this amazing book. I love Groa as well – I was just reading about her reconciliation with Thorfinn, and it is such a moving scene (“It is not compassion”). I’ve been tempted to read some of the Norse sagas, I think they’d help me understand this book better. And I hope someday to take a Thorfinn tour, at least of Orkney, Moray & Caithness.
Thank you, Lisa. I always find Dunnett’s books hard to write about and worry that I haven’t done them justice, so that’s good to know! I hope you have the opportunity to take your tour one day – I’m sure they will be beautiful places to visit.
A “Thorfinn tour” is my dream as well! I wonder how many of us there are…
I LOVED this book, it must be the year of Dunnett as I just read it a few months ago, too. I think Groa is by far Dunnett’s strongest female lead character, who matches her husband every step of the way. I love Thorfinn, too. And the ending- oh, god.
I remember reading your review, Aarti. I’m glad you loved Groa and Thorfinn too!
Hi, I just noticed this review and wondered if you would like to link it in to the current monthly collection of books that people loved on Carole’s Chatter. This is the link There are already some great books linked in that you might be interested in. It would be super if you came on over. Cheers
Helen, thanks for stopping by and adding to the collection. I am now following you with my new bestie, Bloglovin. I hope to see you again soon. Cheers
I love historical fiction.
THANKS for sharing.
Stopping by from Carole’s Books You Loved June Edition. I am in the list as #31.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Book Entry
Ah, a new book to read.
Like many, many people around the world, most of who do not know it, I am descended ( apparently ) from Thorfinns wife, Ingibjörg Finnsdóttir, although through her marriage to Malcolm Canmore. How much is true, how much conjecture is anyones guess, but its nice to think that I have a link.
So even though this is fiction, what in reality is fact and what isnt.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and its over to my local independent bookseller to find a copy 🙂
Matt
Hi Matt
I hope you can find a copy of the book. It’s fascinating to think that, as you’ve said, many of us could be descended from Ingibjörg without being aware of it. I’m sure that knowing there’s a connection would make this book an even more rewarding read for you.
I’m going to see our local indie bookshop next week, see if he can get me a copy.
We are all interrelated in some way or another, and then you have the mysts of time throwing speculation in all over the place.
Still, having visited the “home” of Ingibjörg at Birsay, Orkney, its a connection that for me is real 🙂
Reblogged this on and commented:
I think this may be the book to read next 🙂
Well, eight year on and I’d picked up the copy of the special edition King Hereafter that was presented to all of those at the Banquet in Stirling Castle celebrating Dorothy Dunnett and the completion of The House of Niccolo…
So I thought I would make a quick search online first… Having met Lady Dunnett on a few occasions, I knew this was likely to be a challenging read, and this page is confirming that that is likely to be the case!
Maybe I’ll read Nigel Tranter’s “Macbeth The King” first! 🙂
Bob Aldridge
It’s a long and challenging book, but still very readable and worth the time and effort. If you’ve read any of Dunnett’s other books, you’ll be fine!
Well, I’ve read the House of Niccolo series, and I’m long term struggling to get through Queens Play! I’ll get there one day!
Oh, and I have all the JJs (all are Dunnetts, not Hallidays…)