BOOK OF THE WEEK

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Weird Sisters by Olga Wojtas; Saraband; £9.99

Sh o n a McMonagle is a timetravelling fiftysomething librarian and former pupil of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh. Miss Blaine, at around 200-300 years old, is very much alive, and has taken offence over the fact that Shakespeare’s works do not have an appropriate they are fiction, and

such a disclaimer in all disclaimer stating that instructed Shona to insert his books.

Similar earlier offence taken at the treatment of her school by Dame Muriel Spark has led to Shona hiding all copies of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and refusing to lend them. Currently, however, she finds herself in an unusual predicament in the Highlands of 11th Century Scotland, as a mouse is threatened by an owl. Her present time-travelling mission is, she believes, to prevent Macbeth from murdering Duncan at Glamis, and to allow “real” history to continue as it should. On arrival in the 11th Century,

Shona has: met the three witches and Macbeth in

the witches’ cave; found herself offered employment as Macbeth’s Fool; been introduced to Lady Macbeth

(Gruoch); encountered Birnam Wood; chatted with King Duncan; offended Hecate, the witches’ boss, and as a result been turned into a mouse.

The witches’ cat – also Gruoch’s cat – who turns out to be a transmogrified literary gentleman from the 17 th Century, rescues her and returns her to the castle.

The book continues through the various stages of the murder plot to a very unexpected conclusion, with much confusion on the way.

Ms Wojtas’s biography describes her writing style as unconventional, witty and surrealistically humorous.

It is certainly all of that. As may be gathered, the early chapters initially lay out a scenario that takes a little while to make sense. Not sense as such, but consistency with some unusual premises.

The book is extremely lighthearted, funny and easy to read. All the characters, with the exception of Hecate, are sympathetic. While no great effort has been made to develop the characters to any depth, this doesn’t matter. The fact that events do not proceed either in line with Shakespeare’s plot, or with accepted history is also irrelevant.

As Shona comments, some people will believe one, some the other, but only she knows the true story.

By the way, before you read this, it would help to look up catalectic trochaic tetrameter.