Buchtipp: Hamnet

While he is in London, shaping the course of literature as we know it today, Agnes stays behind in Stratford to care for their children and manage everyday life at home. Agnes is portrayed as a gifted and enigmatic woman with remarkable precognitive abilities and deep knowledge as a herbal healer, closely connected to nature. Living on Henley Street, she raises her three children: Susanna, Hamnet and Judith, and is both admired and feared by those around her. In 1596, Hamnet dies at the age of eleven. His sudden death devastates Agnes, who is overwhelmed by grief and struggles to cope with the loss. Her husband mourns in his own way by writing the play Hamlet in honour of his son. By leaving Shakespeare unnamed, O’Farrell centres the narrative on the emotional core of the story – a mother’s love, loss and the ways in which grief shapes identity. Hamnet is ultimately a moving and poignant reflection on family, love and sorrow, echoing through time and deeply touching the reader.

Maggie O’Farrell. Hamnet. Tinder Press, 2021.