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Hamnet

Listen to the bestselling novel before you see the award winning film

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About this listen

 **LISTEN TO HAMNET STAR JESSIE BUCKLEY'S UNFORGETTABLE NEW RECORDING BEFORE YOU SEE THE FILM**

'Richly sensuous... something special' The Sunday Times
'A thing of shimmering wonder' David Mitchell

TWO EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE. A LOVE THAT DRAWS THEM TOGETHER. A LOSS THAT THREATENS TO TEAR THEM APART.

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 is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright: a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.

WINNER OF THE 2020 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION - THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER 2021
WINNER: WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
WINNER: FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR, BRITISH BOOK AWARDS
WINNER: BOOKS ARE MY BAG READER'S CHOICE AWARD
AS FEATURED ON BBC2'S BETWEEN THE COVERS
SHORTLISTED: AN POST IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR, WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION©2020 Maggie O'Farrell Biographical Fiction Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Renaissance Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking Fiction

Critic reviews

Stunning. The writing is exquisite, immersive and compelling... deserves to win prizes
The story of Hamnet Shakespeare has been waiting in the shadows for over four hundred years. Maggie O'Farrell brings it dazzlingly, devastatingly, into the light
Grief and loss so finely written I could hardly bear to read it
Heartstopping. Hamnet does for the Shakespeare story what Jean Rhys did for Jane Eyre, inhabiting, enlarging and enriching it in ways that will alter the reader's view for ever
Blisteringly brilliant... You'll lap up this intricately told story of grief, love and the bond between twins
[A] rich imagining of the lives of Shakespeare's family enchants... O'Farrell's remarkable novel bursts with life
A beautiful read. A devastating one. Intricate, and breathtakingly imaginative
A bold undertaking. Beautifully imagined and written
Richly sensuous...something special
The novel of her career... everyone I know who has managed to get hold of a copy is absolutely in love with it
A staggeringly beautiful and unbearably poignant novel. O'Farrell is one of the most surprisingly quiet radicals in fiction
All stars
Most relevant
Beautifully narrated by Jessie Buckley, full of emotion. Thank you, Maggie O’Farrell for idly speculating about the life of Shakespeare and about Agnes. It’s enriching and I can’t wait to see it on film. Full of emotion, full of life.

Beautiful.

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I had already read the book, and listened to the original audiobook but wanted to hear it again read by Jessie in the lead up to the film release.

The book is of course similarly heart warming and wrenching as it was, but through Jessie’s performance it is transcended. I felt the maternal joy and anguish in equal measure in the pit of my stomach.

It is so moving I don’t have the vocabulary to explain the effect it has had on me. I’ve become obsessed with the film and am counting down the days for the imagery in my mind to be transported to the screen.

A wondrous book transcended to a further level through a new performance.

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Stunning story written in a deeply moving way . Has a perfect rhythm and magnetic qualities which makes it difficult to put down. Fabulous.

The beautiful reading

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Hamnet is an extraordinary and deeply moving novel. O’Farrell’s writing is elegant without ever feeling heavy, and she brings the world of the story to life with real clarity and care. Instead of focusing on Shakespeare himself, she turns the spotlight on the family around him, which gives the book a fresh and very human perspective.

What stayed with me most was the way the book handles grief. It is heart-wrenching, but never overdone. The emotion builds quietly, and you feel it rather than being told how to feel. Agnes is a particularly powerful character – strong, sensitive, and closely connected to the natural world. Her experience and the way she carries her loss make her unforgettable.

Even though we know where the story is heading, O’Farrell creates a tension that pulls you through the book. The final chapters are devastating, but there is also a sense of beauty and understanding in how everything comes together.

A beautifully written and unforgettable read.

A beautifully written and unforgettable read.

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It was so well written I felt as if I lived in Stratford amongst them all.

Beautifully written and narrated

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