Hamnet (novel)

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Hamnet
Hamnet (book cover).jpg
First edition
Author Maggie O'Farrell
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical fiction
Published31 March 2020
Publisher Tinder Press
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Pages384
Awards Women's Prize (2020),
National Book Critics (2020)
ISBN 978-1472223791
(1st ed. UK Hardcover)
OCLC 1104658967
823/.914
LC Class PR6065.F36 H35 2020

Hamnet is a 2020 historical fiction novel by Maggie O'Farrell. It is a fictional account of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway's son, Hamnet, who died at age eleven in 1596, and focuses on his parents' grief. In Canada, the novel was published under the title Hamnet & Judith. [1]

Contents

Plot and background

The book relates to the real-life death of William Shakespeare's only son Hamnet who was buried on 11 August 1596. [2] [3] It describes the circumstances of William Shakespeare's marriage with Anne Hathaway (portrayed as a herbalist), the birth of their children and subsequent death of Hamnet, potentially from bubonic plague, which influenced Shakespeare's subsequent writing in the tragedy of his play Hamlet . [2] [4] The story includes some of the known facts of Shakespeare's life in the Tudor Period but also includes myths and other imagined fictions surrounding Hamnet's death. [5]

O’Farrell explained in an interview that she “was always baffled and saddened by how little mention he [Hamnet] receives in biographies and literary criticism, so I decided to write a novel about him, to attempt to give him a voice and a presence.” [2] O'Farrell wrote with personal experience, citing her fear at the potential of losing her own child who contracted meningitis at the age of 4. [6] [7] She herself also suffered from encephalitis when aged 8 and this left her with an understanding of the serious effects of bedridden illness. [6] [7] [8] The book therefore describes the fighting of childhood illnesses and the subsequent psychological impact of sickness and death. [8] As part of her research, O'Farrell researched Elizabethan era England and visited both Stratford-upon-Avon and the Globe Theatre. [9]

Publication

The book was first published in the United Kingdom on 31 March 2020 by Tinder Press, an imprint of Hachette Livre. [10] [11] It was published in the US on 21 July 2020 by Knopf Publishing Group of Penguin Random House. [12] By early 2022, Hamnet had sold approximately 1.6 million copies. [13] By 2024, it was reported to have exceeded 2 million copies sold, having been translated into 40 languages. [14]

Critical response and awards

In 2020, the book won the Women's Prize for Fiction [15] and National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction; that December, it was also chosen as Waterstones' Book Of The Year. [16] The following year, it was named "Novel of the Year" at the Dalkey Literary Awards, [17] was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize, [18] and longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. [19] It was described in Literary Review as "a rich story by any stretch of the imagination, and O'Farrell's stretches much, much further than most of ours." [20]

Adaptations

In 2023, a stage adaptation of the novel by Lolita Chakrabarti premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, re-opening the Swan Theatre after the COVID-19 pandemic and refurbishment. [21] [22] In September, the piece transferred to the Garrick Theatre in London, directed by Erica Whyman and starring Madeleine Mantock as Agnes Hathaway, Tom Varey as William Shakespeare and Ajani Cabey as Hamnet. It was scheduled to play until at least February 2024. [23]

A film adaptation of Hamnet produced in part by Amblin Partners and directed by Chloé Zhao was announced in April 2023, with Jessie Buckley as Agnes Hathaway and Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare. [24] The film was released in the United Kingdom in January 2026. [25]

Awards

Awards and honours for Hamnet
YearAward/HonourCategoryResultRef.
2020 National Book Critics Circle Award Fiction Won [15]
Women's Prize for Fiction N/aWon [16]
2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal FictionLonglisted [19]
Dalkey Literary AwardsNovel of the YearWon [17]
Walter Scott Prize N/aShortlisted [18]

References

  1. "Hamnet and Judith". CBC Books. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Thorpe, Vanessa (22 February 2020). "Alas, poor Hamnet: spotlight falls on Shakespeare's tragic only son". The Guardian . Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  3. "Parish register entry recording Hamnet Shakespeare's burial". Shakespeare Documented. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  4. James, Caryn (21 November 2025). "'History has treated her badly': Hamnet and the 400-year-old mystery around Shakespeare's wife and son". BBC Culture. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  5. Stigler, Britt; Club, Ballerina Book (4 March 2021). "Maggie O'Farrell on the tension between myth and reality in 'Hamnet'". ALL ARTS. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  6. 1 2 Gilchrist, Hannah (30 January 2013). "Maggie O'Farrell". Red Online. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  7. 1 2 Brooks, Geraldine (17 July 2020). "Shakespeare's Son Died at 11. A Novel Asks How It Shaped His Art". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  8. 1 2 Prijatel, Patricia (12 July 2021). "The Intimacy of Hamnet Grew From the Writer's Life". Psychology Today. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  9. Shacklock, Emma (17 March 2020). "Maggie O'Farrell reveals her writing tips". Woman & Home. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  10. O'Farrell, Maggie (16 October 2019). Hamnet. Hachette UK. ISBN   978-1-4722-2381-4 . Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  11. "Maggie O'Farrell Wins the UK's 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction". publishingperspectives.com (in Italian). 10 September 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  12. O'Farrell, Maggie (21 July 2020). Hamnet. New York: Knopf Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-525-65760-6.
  13. Harris, Elizabeth A. (30 August 2022). "Maggie O'Farrell Looks for Stories Hiding in Plain Sight". The New York Times . Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  14. Kroll, Justin (20 August 2024). "Focus Features Boards Chloé Zhao's Adaptation Of 'Hamnet' Starring Jessie Buckley And Paul Mescal". Deadline. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Novel about Shakespeare's son wins fiction prize". BBC News. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  16. 1 2 Beer, Tom (25 March 2021). "National Book Critics Circle Presents Awards". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  17. 1 2 "Winner of the Novel of the Year 2021". www.zurich.ie. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  18. 1 2 "Australians comprise majority of Walter Scott Prize shortlist". Books+Publishing. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  19. 1 2 "2021 Winners". Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence . 18 October 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  20. France, Miranda (31 March 2020). "Love in the Time of Plague". Literary Review .
  21. Sherwood, Harriet (8 November 2022). "RSC to stage play about plague death of William Shakespeare's son Hamnet". The Guardian . Retrieved 17 January 2026.
  22. "Swan Theatre". Royal Shakespeare Company. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  23. "Hamnet Tickets", London Theatre Direct. Retrieved October 13, 2023
  24. Kroll, Justin (4 April 2023). "Chloé Zhao To Direct Adaptation Of Maggie O'Farrell's Novel 'Hamnet' For Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures, Neal Street Productions and Book of Shadows". Deadline. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  25. Bradshaw, Peter (6 January 2026). "Hamnet review – Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley beguile and captivate in audacious Shakespearean tragedy". The Guardian . Retrieved 13 January 2026.