A few months ago I wrote that we went to see the award-winning movie "Hamnet". It was a superb film. However, long before I saw the movie, the book upon which it was based was sitting unread on my bookshelf. I finally got around to reading the novel.
Often film adaptations are not as good as the book. In this case the movie set a very high bar, but I can say that the book is as good as the movie.
The novel was written by Irish-British novelist Maggie O'Farrell in 2020. Very little is known about the family life of William Shakespeare, and in this novel the author imagines the relationship between the playwright and his wife and three children. His only son was named Hamnet which is a variation of the name Hamlet.
It is interesting that not once in the book is the Bard called by his name. He is referred to as "the tutor" or "the husband" or just "he". If you didn't already know the premise of the novel, I suppose that it might take you a few chapters to realize the book is about Shakespeare and his family. The fact that the wife, who is the central character of the book, is named Agnes muddies the waters a bit. We learned in school that Shakespeare's wife was named Anne Hathaway. However, we know from documents that her father called her Agnes, and that is the name the author uses. In spite of that, I think that you would have to be pretty dense not to put the clues together... the family lives in Stratford-upon-Avon, the husband goes to London and there he has success as the writer for a troupe of players.
I have not read anything else by O'Farrell, but I was thoroughly impressed by her skill as a writer. There are passages in the book that I found deeply moving.
I am not going to give away the plot. If you have not read the book or seen the movie, I highly recommend them both!
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