Maggie’s Kindle Notes & Highlights

Hamnet, by Maggie O'Farrell

This is a book I’ve wanted to write for a very long time. I first heard about the existence of Hamnet, the boy, when I was studying the play ‘Hamlet’ at school for my Higher English exam. My teacher mentioned in passing that Shakespeare had a son called Hamnet who died several years before the play was written. I was immediately struck by the echo of these names. What did it mean for a father to call a play after his dead son?

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03 Aug 21 · Flag

Marilyn Sneddon

I loved this book too. I didn't know about Hamnet, the boy, before reading this book, but it was beautiful crafted. I can definitely relate to a father or mother naming a play after their dead child. …

11 Nov 21 · Flag

Bob Zaslow

Ms. O'Farrell- 'Hamnet' is up on the list of my ten favorite novels ever! Your writing is so wonderfully crafted, your structure, flawless and your dialogue, so engaging that it was easy to suspend di…

21 Feb 22 · Flag

Roberta

There's also the notion that an Ur-Hamlet was written shortly after Hamnet died, and then a long gap between then and the premiere at the Globe; if memory serves, it was twelve years (1598-1610)--the …

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