Hamnet

De: Maggie O'Farrell

Narrado por: Ell Potter

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Of all the stories that argue and speculate about Shakespeare’s life ... here is a novel ... so gorgeously written that it transports you." —The Boston Globe

In 1580’s England, during the Black Plague a young Latin tutor falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman in this “exceptional historical novel” (The New Yorker) and best-selling winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family’s land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose career on the London stage is taking off when his beloved young son succumbs to sudden fever.

A luminous portrait of a marriage, a shattering evocation of a family ravaged by grief and loss, and a tender and unforgettable re-imagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, and whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays of all time, Hamnet is mesmerizing, seductive, impossible to put down—a magnificent leap forward from one of our most gifted novelists.

Don’t miss Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel, The Marriage Portrait!

Absolute genius

Easily one of the finest novels of the last twenty-five years. Just one man’s opinion. Well, I’m not in fact a man, I’m a well-known actress posing as a man for the sake of audible reviews, but it’s a figure of… okay, you get the idea. Always, Geoff

Beautifully written!

What a marvelous work of fiction!!
Loved every single word! Your write feelings incredibly well! I feel what your characters are feeling!

Superbly and creatively crafted story

This masterful book is a must-read. Author Maggie O'Farrell imagines in every detail the life of late 16th century England. She builds from two key facts -- that Shakespeare had a son, Hamnet (also known as Hamlet), who died at the age of 11, and that four years later Shakespeare wrote the tragedy, Hamlet. From a combination of known facts, an understanding of life in those times, and an amazing ability to put herself in the shoes of the Shakespeare family, she fills in all the details of this story. O'Farrell's creative and detailed recounting of how "the pestilence" found its way from Egypt to England is extraordinary. So is her filling out the character of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway (known as Agnes). Ell Potter is brilliant as the narrator. When I finished this book, I realized that I had missed many of the details that ultimately took on great importance. On a second reading, the book is even better than on the first. Knowing what to look for has opened my eyes even further to the skilled manner in which O'Farrell has carefully but subtly provided the reader with information early in the story that will take on great significance later in the book. It is really well done.

Best read I’m a long time

A touching story about grief and loss of a child affected a family. Narrator had a lyrical soothing voice and was beautiful and easy to listen to

Tragic, beautiful, full of heart

Beautifully written and narrated, I highly recommend it!! This is one of the best audible books that I have listened to.