Hamnet
Published Mar 2020
WINNER OF THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020
WINNER OF THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020
WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS’ CHOICE AWARD 2020
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD 2020
FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE 2021 BRITISH BOOK AWARDS
Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright. It is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. It is also the story of a kestrel and its mistress, a flea that boards a ship in Alexandria, and a glovemaker’s son who flouts convention in pursuit of the woman he loves. Above all, it is a tender and unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.
Praise for Maggie O’Farrell:
Maggie O’Farrell manoeuvres her characters with a conjuror’s sleight of hand… a deft and compelling chronicler of human relationships.
Guardian
What lifts her work into a different realm is her astute observation and characters so gut-wrenchingly real that you sometimes want to take them in your arms.
The Sunday Times
Few contemporary writers equal Maggie O’Farrell’s gift for combining intricate, engrossing plots with full-bodied characterizations.
Washington Post
