Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell (Audible)

After listening to the audible version of Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait and raving about that, people urged me to read more O’Farrell. Being a former English major and a lifelong fan of Shakespeare, Hamnet, the story of Shakespeare’s son who died at eleven, was a no brainer choice. What I like about O’Farrell’s historical fiction set in times where the records are sparse is, you can tell she has effortlessly woven in every fact that is known and created day to day life for her character that is reliably considered and researched. Her comprehension of the human condition is deep and moving. Shakespeare’s wife, who most of us think of as Ann, is called Agnes, the name her father used in his will. O’Farrell imagines her the child of a woman of the woods, who has great knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs that she passes to her daughter before her untimely death. Why Agnes and Will match is a mystery to many in Stratford, but they see into each other’s souls and the ways that they are odd people with remarkable gifts not obvious to those concerned about appearances and conventions makes them a match forever. O’Farrell finds explanations for why Will goes to London and what Agnes does in his absence. Many different characters capture our hearts. The twins, Hamnet and Judith. The Baker’s wife. We never hear Will’s first or last name ever. Just her husband. His mother’s son. O’Farrell is a magical and engrossing and visual writer. In both the novels I’ve read, she weaves in connections to nature, every sense and emotion is touched by what people had to endure to live in their times and we believe she is a time traveler to make us buy into her sensibilities of these settings. I will keep up my O’Farrell reading/listening. The narrator was again excellent. Very glad I took the time to listen to Hamnet.