Book #17: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Many scholars will probably recognise the name "Hamnet" as belonging to William Shakespeare's son, and will probably guess how this story will unfold.
This is another book that put me in mind of Wolf Hall, with its imagined version of historical events; I found it enthralling from start to finish, and learned a few things that I didn't know (which I presume are true facts) including a new angle on one of his most famous works, Hamlet, which made me see it in a whole new light. In the first performance, Shakespeare himself plays the ghost, which I am almost really happened (the story certainly sounded familiar).
In this book, Shakespeare isn't named at all, usually referred to as "Hamnet's father" or "Agnes' husband"; he is the son of a glover. His wife Agnes apparently has psychic powers, and is fascinated by herbal remedies; her family initially object to her marrying Shakespeare, even after she becomes pregnant with his daughter.
The book feels difficult at first, because it jumps about in the timeline a lot. It is also set at the time when England was ravaged by the great plague (it seems strangely apt that this novel was published during the Coronavirus pandemic), so also has a flashback to how the plague first came to Britain.
Overall, I loved this - it was compelling, and very readable; it deservingly won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2020.
View all my reviews