Hamnet (2020)
Who wrote it?
Maggie O'Farrell (1972- ; active 2000- ), born in Coleraine in County Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland, but grew up in Wales and Scotland. She studied English Literature at the University of Cambridge, before working as a journalist, including a stint as deputy literary editor of The Independent. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband, the English novelist William Sutcliffe, with whom she has three children.
Her nine novels to date have been widely acclaimed and awarded, from her first novel After You'd Gone (2000) which took the Betty Trask Award for young debut novelists, through the Costa-winning The Hand That First Held Mine (2010) and Hamnet which won the National Book Critics Circle award in addition to the Women's Prize. She has also written two children's books, published a memoir (I Am, I Am, I Am) in 2017, and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2021. Her latest novel, The Marriage Portrait, was shortlisted for the 2023 Women’s Prize.
What's it about?
Hamnet is a creative imagining of the story of the death of Shakespeare’s only son. Despite its title, it focuses predominantly on the bard’s wife, here called Agnes (pronounced Ann-yis, and as named in her father’s will) though typically better known as Anne Hathaway. It’s a non-linear narrative with its substantial first section moving back and forth in time between the events leading up to Hamnet’s death from the bubonic plague, and the early days of William and Agnes’ relationship, covering the birth of their three children, first Susanna, whose conception leads to their marriage, and later the twins Judith and Hamnet.
The novel begins with Judith the one seemingly doomed to succumb to the plague; the ‘weaker’ twin, she is laid low with a heavy fever and tell-tale buboes. We find Hamnet searching the streets of Stratford for any of his relatives who can help, but all are absent - William is off in London, his career in the theatre already blossoming; the nature-attuned Agnes off tending her bees; and various other relatives nowhere to be found. Although we learn relatively little about Hamnet, he is presented as intelligent and caring, the model child looking to help his sick sister.
Jumping to the past, we are introduced to a young unnamed ‘Latin tutor’ working at the house of the Hathaways. Evidently bored with his work, the young Shakespeare first spies Agnes emerging from the forest bearing her adopted pet kestrel, and seems to instantly fall for her. Some rather racy encounters involving the literal and metaphorical upsetting of apple carts occur, and lead to the young William asking Agnes’ stepmother, the harsh and contrary Joan, for her hand in marriage, which she laughs off.
The first two-thirds of the book jumps back and forth between these two scenarios, largely focusing on the domestic situation of Agnes and her children, living at close quarters with Shakespeare’s parents - the fearsome and feckless John and the motherly but traditional and practical Mary. Agnes is an otherly presence in the Shakespeare household, regarded with suspicion by most in the house (and town) as something of a witchy oddball, but the families integrate and we see them working together through the toil and hardship of sixteenth century domestic life. Shakespeare himself is more of an absence - purposefully never referred to by name, he is barely there in the ‘present day’ sections and in the early parts (save when upsetting apples with Agnes) his mind is clearly wanting to be elsewhere.
The last third of the book is dominated by the devastating impact of Hamnet’s death, primarily on Agnes, who blames herself for her lack of attention to her son and descends into a deep depression, losing interest in her previous focus on natural remedies, leaving Susanna to become the ‘mother’ of the house and restlessly searching for signs of connection from her dead child. Unthinkably to Agnes, William almost immediately returns to London, convinced that if he stays he will be stuck in Stratford and never leave. In his long absence through Agnes’ grief, a strange relationship develops between the two, in which Agnes’ hatred for him is punctuated by signs of their love when he makes brief visits back to Stratford - including to buy her the largest house in town, the fruits of his burgeoning success.
The final pages, masterfully handled, bring the pair back together in suitably dramatic fashion. Upon learning that William has, without telling Agnes or his daughters, named his latest play after their lost son (we learn in the book’s introduction that ‘Hamnet’ and ‘Hamlet’ were ‘entirely interchangeable’ names at the time,) Agnes determines to go to London and try to understand what her husband is up to. Initially baffled to the point of disgust by the play and its perceived disconnection to her son, she is brought round by the story in which Shakespeare plays the ghost of Hamlet’s father, an artistic attempt to reverse the roles and bring his child back to life on stage, a father wishing he could have given his own life in place of his son’s.
What I liked
This is the second book by Maggie O’Farrell that I’ve read, and like the more recent The Marriage Portrait it is utterly beautifully written. It’s somehow rich while maintaining absolute clarity throughout, and poetic without being remotely difficult. A joy to read.
Like The Marriage Portrait, Hamnet uses shifting timelines to really good effect. I particularly liked the way that in the final section, following the death of the title character, the time-shifting stopped - moving us from a seeming never-ending interplay between past and present into a more relentless, doom-laden evocation of the linear march of time.
It’s a book that sometimes catches you off guard, in a really good way. Much of the long first section is a gorgeously immersive but not entirely unpredictable evocation of the time and place and people that captivates without surprising. But this only makes its diversions the more impactful. The section detailing the bizarre oddities of fate that led the virus on its journey to the Shakespeare household comes out of nowhere and is a dazzling tour de force when it arrives, to take only the most spectacular example.
The final section of the book is exceptional from start to finish. It begins with one of the most starkly-rendered and devastating renditions of grief that I have ever read (or encountered in any art form) - the interplay between Agnes and the left-behind twin (‘Is there a word for that?’ - wah!) Judith is especially heartbreaking.
Agnes and her brother Bartholomew’s journey to the ‘hellscape’ of London is also hugely memorable. Previously, like Shakespeare himself, the capital has been a mysterious absence in the book, with Agnes left to speculate on what it might be like. Here though, Shakespeare’s London with all its sounds, smells and severed heads on sticks is briefly brought to life with an exhilarating jolt.
The book’s conclusion (like much, in fact, about this book) could have been cheesy, mawkish, overly predictable, but in fact is incredibly well-handled. This, and the whole of part II of the book, made me understand why this book in particular is held in such high esteem, and why some (though I personally really enjoyed it) may have been relatively disappointed by contrast with The Marriage Portrait.
What I didn’t like
As I’ve said above, I think this is required in order for the latter surprises and developments to have impact, but I didn’t immediately understand the great love for this book. It spends quite a long time being enchanting rather than invigorating as a read, so could potentially lose some readers in its earlier stages. This is no major criticism though - it more than won me over with its incredible final section.
Food & drink pairings
Various foraged herbs and berries
Ale from the brewhouse
Fun facts
Hamnet’s omission from the 2020 Booker Prize shortlist was widely regarded as a huge surprise. Her husband, the novelist William Sutcliffe, spoke out against the decision on Twitter, saying
“I can’t really see what more a British writer could do to be in contention for the top literary prize in her own country”
O’Farrell initially hesitated to write the novel, saying it had been gestating for years if not decades, but (hugely understandably!):
“One of the things that really put me off is that I have a son and two daughters, like Shakespeare. And I couldn’t write the book, I couldn’t get to grips with it or grapple with it, until my own son was well past the age of 11. I knew that I had to put myself inside the mind of a woman who sits at her son’s bed and watches him die. And I just couldn’t do it.”
Like the 2020 Booker, and somewhat inevitably given Covid lockdowns, the 2020 ceremony was a digital-only affair.
Slightly bizarrely, the novel was published in Canada under the title Hamnet & Judith - anyone able to shed any light on this?
A stage adaptation by Lolita Chakrabati premiered earlier this year (2023) and is still in full swing at the RSC’s Swan Theatre in Stratford.
The perhaps-inevitable film adaptation should follow at some point in the near future - Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) is slated to direct, with Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal named as potential stars.
Vanquished Foes
Angie Cruz (Dominicana)
Bernardine Evaristo (Girl, Woman, Other)
Natalie Haynes (A Thousand Ships)
Hilary Mantel (The Mirror and the Light)
Jenny Offill (Weather)
Girl, Woman, Other was a shared winner of the 2019 Booker Prize alongside Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments. Oddly, Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light failed to make the 2020 Booker shortlist (though it was longlisted) despite it being the conclusion to a trilogy in which the first two entries were rightly celebrated Booker-winners. 2020’s Booker went to Douglas Stuart’s excellent debut Shuggie Bain.
Context
In 2020:
Covid-19 pandemic dominates pretty much everything, leading to global lockdowns, disruptions and major event cancellations and postponements, as well as the largest recession since the 1930s
Simultaneously a terrible year for climate change, with major bushfires in Australia and US amongst the headline incidents
Murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis leads to protests across the US and around the world against racism and police brutality
First impeachment trial of US President Trump in January
United Kingdom formally withdraws from the EU on January 31st, with a transition period expiring on December 31st (a trade agreement is achieved just a week before this final deadline)
Postponement of major events include Euro 2020, Copa America, Eurovision Song Contest, Tour de France, Tokyo Olympics, among many others
Costa Rica is first central American country to legalise same-sex marriage
China introduces sweeping legislation aimed to suppress the Hong Kong democracy movement
Russia passes legislation which could allow Putin to remain in power until 2036
Massive explosion caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate devastates Beirut
Africa declares polio eridicated in the continent
Japan's longest-serving PM Shinzo Abe resigns due to ill health
New Zealand's Labour Party under Jacinda Ardern wins landslide second term
Joe Biden elected as 46th President of the USA
US formally withdraws from Paris Agreement on Climate Change and Open Skies Treaty with Russia
Rapid development of Covid vaccines, with Pfizer/BioNTech the first to be approved for use in December in the UK
Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and The Light
Ali Smith, Summer
Barack Obama, A Promised Land
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Tenet
Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
Taylor Swift, Folklore / Evermore
The Weeknd, After Hours
J Hus, Big Conspiracy
Life Lessons
No pain is greater than the loss of a child
Um, absence makes the heart grow fonder? In a really weird way though, and probably only if it’s ultimately discovered that you’ve been absently working on the greatest work of literature of all time (which happens to ensure your son’s eternal legacy), rather than off shagging your way around London or something.
Score
9.5
Ah yes, I get why everyone loves this one! Emotive and masterful, and really hard to fault as an overall reading experience. It appears a little further down my rankings as it didn’t wow me all the way through in the same way as those few books above it.
2020’s Booker winner Shuggie Bain got a 9.5 from me.
Ranking to date:
How to be both (2015) - Ali Smith - 9.5
Property (2003) - Valerie Martin - 9.5
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing (2014) - Eimear McBride - 9.5
Hamnet (2020) - Maggie O’Farrell - 9.5
The Idea of Perfection (2001) - Kate Grenville - 9
Half of a Yellow Sun (2007) - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 9
Home Fire (2018) - Kamila Shamsie - 9
The Lacuna (2010) - Barbara Kingsolver - 9
When I Lived in Modern Times (2000) - Linda Grant - 9
An American Marriage (2019) - Tayari Jones - 8.5
Larry’s Party (1998) - Carol Shields - 8.5
Bel Canto (2002) - Ann Patchett - 8.5
Small Island (2004) - Andrea Levy - 8.5
A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999) - Suzanne Berne - 8.5
May We Be Forgiven (2013) - A. M. Homes - 8
The Tiger’s Wife (2011) - Téa Obreht - 8
On Beauty (2006) - Zadie Smith - 8
A Spell of Winter (1996) - Helen Dunmore - 8
The Road Home (2008) - Rose Tremain - 7.5
The Glorious Heresies (2016) - Lisa McInerney - 7.5
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2005) - Lionel Shriver - 7.5
The Song of Achilles (2012) - Madeline Miller - 7
Home (2009) - Marilynne Robinson - 7
Fugitive Pieces (1997) - Anne Michaels - 6.5
The Power (2017) - Naomi Alderman - 5
Next up
Before I move to 2021’s winner Piranesi, I’m checking out Zadie Smith’s new one, The Fraud.
