ABSTRACT

This paper examines Ron Rash’s novel Serena – which loosely retells Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the context of 1920s Appalachian lumber industry and George and Serena Pemberton’s rise to power. Rather than solely trace Rash’s engagement with Shakespeare’s play through the novel itself, this paper focuses more on how this relationship is negotiated beyond the text by the author, by professional and amateur book reviewers and by its publishers in the construction and marketing of the book. It finds that while the physical book and a majority of reviewers emphasize Shakespeare and, in some cases, clearly label the novel an adaptation that the author distances himself from Shakespeare and resists this label. Thus, the paper asks what is at stake in labeling the novel an adaptation of Macbeth, how or why that label may or may not be applied, and how this classification – or the lack thereof – affects reception. Ultimately, it argues that the ambiguity of this relationship allows Rash the freedom to deviate from narrative and characterization with little reaction from fidelity critics, enables him to comment on gender issues in literature and environmental issues relevant to 1929 and today, and underwrites efforts by publishers and reviewers to de-regionalize Rash from an Appalachian to a national writer.