Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

There are so few books that a person reads in a lifetime that leaves such a lasting impression and are candidates for a re-read. Hamnet is one of those books. What a joy Maggie O'Farrell's account of the son of William Shakespeare was to savor. Although not much is known about the life of William in Stafford-on-Avon, Farrell bases her novel on those facts of which we are sure and creates as accurate an historical account as an author can with liberty taken to fill in the missing details.

The title of the novel gives only a hint of the scope of the book. It is much more than chronicling the short life of Hamnet. Rather it is a depiction of the relationships within the Shakespeare family. The beginning chapter of the novel sets a stage of panic as a young Hamnet searches for help for his sister, Judith, who has been come seriously ill with what seems to be the plague. He looks for any adult, especially, his mother, to come to her aid. He races furiously around the house on Henley Street and in the town and is the target of his grandfather John's abuse.

Shakespeare's Birthplace, Henley Street

 Abruptly, the next chapter transitions to fifteen years or so before the first and gives the reader the background information necessary to establish the relationships of the characters and it is in this next part that William Shakespeare is introduced. Throughout the book Shakespeare is never named, but only referred to as the Latin tutor, the husband, or the father.  Farrell has chosen to identify his wife as Agnes, rather than the Anne that many more will recognize. In her father, Richard's will she is named Agnes and it is from that document she is identified. A young Latin tutor comes to her house in the Hewlands for educating young boys as a repayment of some debt owed to the tutor's father. In the apple shed, the two kiss, eventually fall in love and plot to circumvent their families' disapproval of their union. 

Agnes' home in Hewlands

Agnes' home in Hewlands

 

In what was probably one of the most sensual scenes of lovemaking without portraying it graphically they consummate their union which results in Agnes' pregnancy. They are married and six months later, their first child, Susannah is born. Following her birth is the arrival of the the twins, Judith and Hamnet.

In alternating flashback and present timelines, the novel becomes a fascinating depiction of the life of Agnes, her children, and the effect that the death of Hamnet at age 11 has upon her and the family.

It is hard for all of them to understand and deal with his death. The Father and Husband leaves the household to seemingly help his father set up a market for his gloves. Predictably, this fails and the Father pursues his love of writing and the theatre. When word reaches Agnes that the Husband has written a play, Hamlet, she and her brother Bartholomew take off for London to glean an explanation. The last chapter of the book is poignant, tear-inducing, and heart rending. It leaves the reader to pause and consider how Agnes and the Husband will go on. 

Maggie O'Farrell's writing is so lyrical and emotional at every turn. Many times she eschewed dialogue for description, which led to an even more rhapsodic writing. A sheer gem of a book and one that bears reading again and again. It will be interesting to hear O'Farrell's talk on 22 November 2021 when she addresses the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures 10 Literary Evenings program.