Love, Loss and the Boy Behind Hamlet
On a summer’s day in 1596, a girl falls ill and her twin, Hamnet, searches desperately for help. Their mother Agnes is in the fields, their father is in London, and neither knows their son will not live out the week. Hamnet is a luminous reimagining of Shakespeare’s family life and the grief that shaped one of his greatest plays.
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Hamnet
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Love, Loss and the Boy Behind Hamlet
On a summer’s day in 1596, a girl falls ill and her twin, Hamnet, searches desperately for help. Their mother Agnes is in the fields, their father is in London, and neither knows their son will not live out the week. Hamnet is a luminous reimagining of Shakespeare’s family life and the grief that shaped one of his greatest plays.
- Book Synopsis
-
The no. 1 bestseller that inspired the major film starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.
On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a sudden fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help.
Why is nobody at home?
Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London.
Neither parent knows that Hamnet will not survive the week.
Hamnet tells the story of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written. It is also the story of a marriage, of a couple brought together by love and curiosity, and pulled apart by grief. Inspired by the son Shakespeare lost, Maggie O’Farrell’s breathtaking novel is a luminous portrait of a family and a tender exploration of how art can emerge from sorrow.
- About The Author
- Maggie O'Farrell is the author of HAMNET, Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020, and the memoir I AM, I AM, I AM, both Sunday Times no. 1 bestsellers. Her novels include AFTER YOU'D GONE, MY LOVER'S LOVER, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, which won a Somerset Maugham Award, THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX, THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE, which won the 2010 Costa Novel Award, INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT, which was shortlisted for the Women's Prize. She is also the author of three books for children, WHERE SNOW ANGELS GO, THE BOY WHO LOST HIS SPARK and WHEN THE STAMMER CAME TO STAY. She lives in Edinburgh.
- Product Details
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- ISBN
- 9781035431335
- Format
- Paperback
- Publisher
- Tinder Press, (23 October 2025)
- Number of Pages
- 372
- Weight
- 270 grams
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 196 x 128 x 28 mm
- Categories: