Hamnet

by Maggie O'Farrell

Paperback, 372 pages

English language

Published Dec. 31, 2019 by Tinder Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-4722-2382-1

(52 reviews)

Drawing on Maggie O'Farrell's long-term fascination with the little-known story behind Shakespeare's most enigmatic play, Hamnet is a luminous portrait of a marriage, at its heart the loss of a beloved child.

Warwickshire in the 1580s. Agnes is a woman as feared as she is sought after for her unusual gifts. She settles with her husband in Henley street, Stratford, and has three children: a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith. The boy, Hamnet, dies in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the husband writes a play called Hamlet.

Award-winning author Maggie O'Farrell's new novel breathes full-blooded life into the story of a loss usually consigned to literary footnotes, and provides an unforgettable vindication of Agnes, a woman intriguingly absent from history.

11 editions

markm reviewed Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Review of 'Hamnet' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The tragedy of life itself.

WorzelFG reviewed Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Review of 'Hamnet' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I probably would have enjoyed this more if I had never seen the wonderful British TV comedy "Upstart Crow". I only managed to get the families voices and faces out of my imagination half way through, but Shakespeare remained to the end with the grinning face of David Mitchell.