Hamnet

By Maggie O’Farrell

Published Mar 2020

Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020

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