NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Of all the stories that argue and speculate about Shakespeare’s life … here is a novel … so gorgeously written that it transports you.” —The Boston GlobeIn 1580’s England, during the Black Plague a young Latin tutor falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman in this “exceptional historical novel” (The New … “exceptional historical novel” (The New Yorker) and best-selling winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family’s land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose career on the London stage is taking off when his beloved young son succumbs to sudden fever.
A luminous portrait of a marriage, a shattering evocation of a family ravaged by grief and loss, and a tender and unforgettable re-imagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, and whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays of all time, Hamnet is mesmerizing, seductive, impossible to put down—a magnificent leap forward from one of our most gifted novelists.
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Hamnet is one of the best books I have ever read. It has the greatest, most subtle, sex scene ever. . . and, if that doesn’t get you into it. . . the most beautiful, perfect, and heartbreaking ending. Yes, it’s about Shakespeare and his family and the plague. Yes, it’s literary fiction. Don’t let preconceptions stop you from diving into this wonderful book.
I had no idea what I was getting into when I began listening to this book. Shakespeare’s love life before he was famous, a wonderful portrait of his family of origin, his wife Agnes (Anne), rural life in the 1500s, and horrible tragedy. Maggie O’Farrell is just an amazing author, and this bit of historical fiction is an amazing read.
Fabulous writing. This book puts the reader back in time. Imaginative, detailed, a real treat.
Very late review on this one, and it needs to commendation from me, but if you’re fed up with the run of the mill and face something different, then Hamnet has it all. Fascinating, involving, emotional, and intense, it’s an insider’s look at Shakespeare’s family as imagined by O’Farrell (quite brilliantly) written with careless excellence.
Hamnet is a masterpiece. This is not a word I use lightly; I may never have used it to describe a contemporary novel. At first, I was put off by the long sentences–phrase upon phrase, seemingly without end. Instances of dialogue are few and far between. But quickly enough, I appreciated the effect: to claim the subterranean story, the one that moves fluidly through all the characters thoughts and feelings, rarely pulling away long enough to use a dramatic–i.e., objective–point of view. O’Farrell avoids the surface story in favor of the deeper one, and I found this choice ultimately breathtaking in part because it goes completely against the current favor of quick reads that consist mainly of dialogue. A tiny quibble is the ending, where the author challenges my understanding of the play in a way I found not entirely convincing. But even here, upon rereading, I am ready to change my mind. It is the kind of novel one wants to reread–and that is certainly my idea of a literary triumph.
This novel is simply exquisite in all ways–the story, the language, the atmosphere. A wonderful exploration of the lives of Shakespeare’s son and wife.
I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. Several reliable people had recommended it to me so I didn’t pay close attention to the description other than to know it had something to do with Shakespeare.
This book is imaginative, endearing, heart-breaking, I got chills at the end…I literally had goosebumps. I don’t know that I’ve ever had that with a book.
The story is ultimately about the undercurrents of love and how they affect people so very differently and how we must navigate life’s sorrows together . . . and apart . . . and dance the dance of grace and pursuit.
I highly recommend this one
Hamnet is such an extraordinary book. But it’s difficult to explain why. First, let me say it is NOT a book about William Shakespeare. In fact, Shakespeare is a secondary, quite remote figure, mostly off following dreams of his own. [In fact, his actual name is not even mentioned in the book.] This IS an historical novel about his family. Both his childhood family, his wife Agnes’ childhood family, and the family the two of them build together.
This is one of those books with a non-linear time frame that works. Moving back and forth through time, the characters Maggie O’Farrell creates are all multi-dimensional, distinctive, and will no doubt remind you of people you know in your own life.
• John, Shakespeare’s father, is a once successful glove-maker who has fallen on hard times and has a deep, violent streak.
• Mary, Shakespeare’s mother, an opinionated woman who believes her son’s choice of wife is all wrong.
• Agnes, the wife — whose knowledge, behavior and interests make her an outcast in their town, chiefly because she refuses to follow the prescribed path imposed on women.
• Susanna, the older daughter, who’s eager for greater independence, though she loves her younger siblings intensely.
• Judith and Hamnet – twins who share the kind of closeness common between twins.
There are also an assortment of brothers and sisters in both Shakespeare’s family of origin and Agnes’. And also, Agnes’ stepmother, Joan. But I’ll leave you the joy of discovering her on your own.
I think what impressed me most with this novel is the way O’Farrell so powerfully and accurately describes the scattered thoughts that run through someone’s mind at moments of intense pleasure and intense grief. [Just wait until you read the story of how the plague got to London!]
But while I think this talented author does a beautiful job examining the drama inherent in the death of a child (NOT a spoiler since you learn about the coming death on page one), this is certainly not always an easy book to read. It’s truly very sad. You will come to love so many of these characters — only to then have to watch them suffer terribly. None more so than Agnes who is the real heroine of the book.
I realize my description has not done this book justice. So, let me just say – DON’T miss this one. The language is poetic, the people complex and real, the story intense and action-packed. And I’ve never read a book that so perfectly expresses the obsessive and soul-wrenching nature of a mother’s grief for a lost child.
This was surely one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read–deep, original, and lyrical. It might be argued that Agnes should be the name of the novel, since it’s mostly about Shakespeare’s wife, but young Hamnet/Hamlet in death becomes an invisible protagonist, reshaping his parent’s marriage, determining the growth of his sisters, especially his twin, Judith–and inspiring in his father (who is never named anywhere in the book) one of the greatest plays in the language. The setting was richly authentic and so natural as to be almost imperceptible; one was hardly conscious of reading historical fiction. Hamnet deserves all the critical praise it has garnered.
More an ode to Agnes (Anne) Hathaway than story about Hamnet, this novel will teach you more about everyday life in Elizabethan England than you ever thought possible. It also casts its heroine on equal footing with her legendary husband.
I read “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell because two of my favorite authors, Susie Finkbeiner and Susan Meissner, recommended it. What a book! It is a fictional account of William Shakespeare’s family and his son, Hamnet, who died when he was eleven years old. I cannot accurately describe Maggie’s wonderful writing ability. I lack the words to adequately describe the depth of emotions she uses to endear the characters to the reader. This book is a page-turner in the respect that the writing makes the reader crave more and more. This book will stay with me for a long time. I am sure I will read more novels by Maggie O’Farrell. I may even watch “Hamlet” with Mel Gibson again.
A fictional account of what the author imagined happening to Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, who died in 1596, at age 11, possibly from the Black Plague. The author weaves an interesting tale of Shakespeare and his wife, how they came to fall in love, and their children. Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, is skilled in herbal treatments, and knowing people thoughts and fortunes. She is not home when her daughter, Judith, Hamnet’s twin, becomes ill. When Judith does not respond to treatment, Hamlet decides to take her place in death. Agnes becomes inconsolable at the loss of her son. Meanwhile, Shakespeare leaves Stratford to expand his abusive father‘s glove business in London. While there, he writes and performs his plays, becoming wealthy. He returns to Stratford, purchases a large home for Agnes and his daughters, returning to London to write the play Hamlet.
Well written, particularly when exploring the grief of a loss of a child, and the toll it takes on families.
I think it’s important that this book is approached as a small, domestic story about an aspect of a life we know was huge. The beginning is largely a character study of Shakespeare’s wife and of household and family back story. Once the reader approaches the death scene (we all know this so it isn’t a give away, though the details are) the writing -already lovely, transcends to amazing and new tension is introduced which propels the story to an absolutely wonderful, unpredictable, perfect ending. Defintely worth the read, just appreciate it for the story it tells, not the epic you may assume.
Not finished yet but enjoying this so much, it really is like slipping back in time, suddenly you are there with the Shakespeare family before the tragedy that you know is coming. Heartbreaking stuff.
Wonderful evocation of sixteenth-century Stratford and the life of Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife and their son Hamnet.
I can’t let go of this story. I read the last page and had to start over again. That’s how far gone I was inside this imagining of Shakespeare’s family in 16th-century Britain. Maggie O’Farrell’s gorgeous writing rendered her characters so painfully real in a rough and vivid world. I am honored to read authors this adept at their craft.
Maggie O’Farrell is a true master. No matter what she writes—contemporary fiction, historical, memoir—I am putty in her hands. In HAMNET, she reimagines the life & death of Shakespeare’s young son, for whom his most famous play was later named. This book is gorgeous in every way: Poetic language, a transformative setting, and story of motherly love that will absolutely tear your heart out and then lovingly tuck it back in. An immersive, haunting read.
This book wove its spell around me from the first page and didn’t let go until the end. The writing is extraordinary. You’re told before the book even starts that the book is about the death of Shakespeare’s young son, Hamnet, and the writing of the play, Hamlet, so you know right away the gist of the story. But it’s so, so much more than that. If you love lyrical writing, fascinating characters, and extraordinary world-building, you’ll love this book. I can’t praise it highly enough.
Where to start? The premise, the language, the way the structure weaves around events and characters. We have all grown up with Shakespeare, but to dive into this historical speculation is a treat nobody should miss. Titled “Hamnet,” after Shakespeare’s 11 year old son who died from the plague (the letter ‘n’ and the letter ‘l’ were interchangeable back then) and presumably the inspiration behind the writing of HAMLET, this novel is a beautiful rendering of the great playwright’s domestic life. His wife, who is historically known to have been named Anne by her father, prefers Agnes and her character is the mainstay of this novel. She is remarkable and unique, gifted with strong intuition and fiercely independent. Her character development is truly beautiful. I particularly enjoyed the rendering of her relationships with her step-mother and mother-in-law, both fraught with tension and managing them critical to her happiness. This is also a heartbreaking tale of losing a child, the most painful loss imaginable and O’Farrell spares nothing in expressing its devastation. I cant recommend this book more highly.
This is truly a ‘notable’ read. Well written, well researched, multifaceted characters. It reflects themes of loss, grief, love, family, and more. Highly recommended.