The Lowdown – Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Posted on the 05 January 2021 by Booksocial

Hamnet, published last year and still in hardback, was an instant smash hit when it hit the shelves. It’s premise is a fictional account of Shakespeare’s son who died at the age of 11. The playwrite is never named referred to instead as ‘her husband’, ‘the father’ and so forth. And although it is named after a boy whose father is famous it is his mother, Agnes, who is the star of the show, The book (out in paperback in April) examines love, marriage and loss, all prompted by a boy whose name lends itself to one of Shakespeare’s greatest ever works, Hamlet.

Maggie O Farrell originally from Northern Ireland but now living in Edinburgh has written several novels, Hamnet being her latest. It won the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction and is now our Book of the Month for January. Read alongside us, answer our Book Club questions and join in with our Big Review at the end of the month.

Hamnet – the blurb

On a summer’s day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a 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 one of the children will not survive the week.

Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright. It is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. It is also the story of a kestrel and its mistress; flea that boards a ship in Alexandria; and a glovemaker’s son who flouts convention in pursuit of the woman he loves. Above all, it is a tender and unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.

Join Us…

We will be sharing our Big Review of Hamnet on the last Friday of the month. A series of Book Club questions will also be around for you to answer on the last Thursday. Don’t wait until then though, we would love to know your marks out of ten as soon as you have read it. So grab your copy and read along with us.