Hamnet

“Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet, a fictionalised account of the short life of Shakespeare’s son, is read beautifully as an audiobook by British actor and writer Ell Potter. Listening time is 12 hours and 42 minutes” Read more...

Great Actors Read Great Novels

“It reexamines the life and legacy of Shakespeare’s wife Agnes. O’Farrell has spoken about how Shakespeare’s many historians have, in the past, ridiculed Agnes. She’s been much maligned. O’Farrell’s book is all from Agnes’s perspective. It’s about her life as a woman and her particular skillset. I mean, she’s illiterate, but she has extraordinary gifts that her husband cannot understand. It also examines her as a mother—the title, is derived from the name of her and Shakespeare’s only son, who died from the plague. O’Farrell writes so deeply movingly about grief.” Read more...

Five of the Best Feminist Historical Novels

Flora Carr, Novelist

“It’s a great story, and beautifully told…see how she ensures that Shakespeare’s wife and children are never overshadowed by their father. In less skilled hands, not naming Shakespeare would grate and fail. With Maggie O’Farrell, this not-naming seems effortless and natural. As we said in our judge’s quote, a bravura performance.” Read more...

The Best Historical Fiction: The 2021 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist

Katharine Grant, Historical Novelist