Read this when
Hamnet
He lay down next to his sick twin so death would take him instead. This is the story of the family he left behind. 🌿
Who it's for
Hamnet imagines the family of Shakespeare (never named in the novel) in the months around the death of his eleven-year-old son in 1596.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 historical novel imagines the family of William Shakespeare and the death of his only son, Hamnet, at age eleven in 1596. It follows the marriage of Agnes, a herbalist, and her husband, the birth of their children, and Hamnet's death, probably from plague. The novel then traces how the parents grieve, and how the loss connects to the later play Hamlet.
Where to find it
In print; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Still in copyright, so not on Project Gutenberg.
Before you start
Heads up: A child's death from plague, in detail.
Age: Ages 14+
Life has become richer by the love that has been lost.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 223
