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  • Hamnet

  • Winner of The Women's Prize for Fiction 2020 - the No. 1 Bestseller
  • By: Maggie O'Farrell
  • Narrated by: Daisy Donovan
  • Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (906 ratings)

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Hamnet

By: Maggie O'Farrell
Narrated by: Daisy Donovan
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020
The Sunday Times best seller

Two extraordinary people. A love that draws them together. A loss that threatens to tear them apart.

On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?

Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. Neither parent knows that one of the children will not survive the week.

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; 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.

©2020 Maggie O'Farrell (P)2020 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Critic Reviews

"A thing of shimmering wonder." (David Mitchell)

"Richly sensuous...something special." (The Sunday Times)

What listeners say about Hamnet

Average Customer Ratings
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Beautifully written and read

A great story with very fine historical detail and beautiful language. Highly recommended. Excellent reading.

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9 people found this helpful

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Gripping, tragic, beautiful

What a remarkable talent is Maggie O’Farrell to be able to re-envisage the life and times of Shakespeare and his family and the pain that each one bears at the loss of Hamnet.. memorable!

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3 people found this helpful

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Beautiful Story

Loved the story. Beautiful emotions. The narrator was easy to listen to but at times sounded like she was running ine sentence into another. Overall well done.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant insight into the world of Shakespeare

So delightfully written & the reading was perfect . Highly recommend the book , did not want it to end .

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Shakespeare re-imagined

Very rewarding, well written, well spoken fiction based on the historical artistic icon. Hard to leave this audio book alone.

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Hamnet

I loved every word of this incredible story. Beautifully narrated as well. a must read

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Unusual and brilliant

This book has already been reviewed. For me, the narration is totally of a piece with the prose/poetry of the text. Beautiful.

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A tragic and beautiful story of motherhood

Loved this so much! The figurative language was next level - I felt I was there. Cried and loved with all the characters.

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A perfect book

What a rare gem. I was first engaged by the language and it's a delight throughout. I was then completely taken with the protagonist - a fine female character to add to wonderful women of literature. Then I was curious about the author's take on the little we know about Shakespeare's life. The thorough research is obvious but it's woven so finely and fluidly into an engaging and moving story. The narration is wonderful. Maggie is a compassionate creator of characters and she has given us a beautiful and insightful perspective on the play. Then I wondered how she'd end it - it's perfect.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Totally absorbing story beautifully told

Cleverly executed. It pulled me into 16th century real life . well researched
Highly recommend.

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