Reading Order
Hamnet Reading Order
Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet (2020) is a complete standalone novel. There is no sequel. The novel imagines the life of Agnes, the wife of the man who would become William Shakespeare, in Elizabethan Stratford-upon-Avon — and the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet from plague in 1596, which preceded the writing of Hamlet by a few years. O'Farrell never names Agnes's husband as Shakespeare. Hamnet won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2020.
Where to start
Hamnet
Complete Hamnet Book List
- 1Buy
Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell·2020·Standalone — Agnes, wife of an unnamed playwright in Elizabethan Stratford, grieves the death of her son Hamnet from plague; Women's Prize for Fiction winner
Hamnet — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hamnet a standalone?
Yes — Hamnet is a complete standalone novel. Maggie O'Farrell has written other novels (Instructions for a Heatwave, I Am, I Am, I Am, The Marriage Portrait), but Hamnet is entirely independent.
Why doesn't O'Farrell name Shakespeare in Hamnet?
O'Farrell has said in interviews that naming Agnes's husband as Shakespeare would make him the subject of the novel, when she intended Agnes and Hamnet to be the subjects. By referring to him only as 'the Latin master' or 'her husband,' she keeps the focus on the domestic life that the famous name would overwhelm. The novel is not about Shakespeare the playwright — it's about the woman and the son his fame has made invisible.
Is Hamnet based on true events?
Hamnet is historical fiction. Shakespeare did have a son named Hamnet who died at 11 in 1596, likely of plague; Shakespeare's wife was Anne Hathaway, whom O'Farrell calls Agnes (the name appears in her father's will). Shakespeare did write Hamlet a few years after Hamnet's death. The novel imagines the interior of events that history records only as dates.
How does Hamnet relate to Shakespeare's Hamlet?
The novel's final section addresses the possible connection between the death of a son named Hamnet (whose name was interchangeable with Hamlet in Elizabethan spelling) and the writing of Shakespeare's great tragedy about a son mourning a father. O'Farrell doesn't make the connection explicit, but the novel's emotional arc arrives at a specific understanding of what Agnes might have felt watching a play that bore her dead son's name.
Monthly Newsletter
Never miss a big release
Get the most anticipated upcoming books delivered to your inbox once a month — no spam, no filler.
Monthly only. Unsubscribe anytime.
Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BookReleaseRadar earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.