"Maggie O'Farrell's lyrical and immersive novel, which won the Women's prize in 2020, imagines the relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes Hathaway, and their grief over the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, from the plague in 1596. The book opens with the young Hamnet realising his twin sister Judith is unwell and searching for an adult to attend to her, while unaware that he is the one who is fatally ill."
"The focus is on Hathaway, a free-spirited woman with deep connections to the landscape. The narrative shifts between her childhood, the early years of her marriage and the aftermath of Hamnet's death, during which Shakespeare writes one of his greatest plays, Hamlet (records state that the names Hamlet and Hamnet were interchangeable in those days). Jessie Buckley, who plays Agnes in the film, is the book's narrator for this new recording."
The novel imagines the relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes Hathaway, and the family's grief after their 11-year-old son Hamnet dies of the plague in 1596. It opens with Hamnet noticing his twin sister Judith is unwell while he is unknowingly fatally ill. Shakespeare is called only the husband or the father and appears as a flawed, rarely present man. Focus falls on Agnes, a free-spirited woman tied to the landscape, with shifts among her childhood, early marriage and the aftermath of Hamnet's death, during which Shakespeare composes Hamlet. Jessie Buckley narrates the recording; her sensitive, dreamlike reading emphasizes Agnes's hardships and the humane portrait of love, loss and grief.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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