Book review: ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell

By LARRY BALLWAHN | Wilton

 The subtitle of this book is “a novel of the plague.” It is set in the later 1500s. Though not done so in this novel, Hamnet and Hamlet were often used interchangeably. The setting is England: Stratford and London. In the early part of the book, time and characters change with each chapter. The reader must discover that, as it is not made clear except by reading the chapter.

He didn’t particularly like being a Latin teacher, but that’s what his father had worked out as a means of paying off some of the father’s debts. And besides that, his bookish ways didn’t make much of a contribution to his father’s glove-making business. The teaching did take on a new dimension when he made the acquaintance of the stepdaughter. She was the strange girl that was seen carrying a bird on her gloved hand. No one seemed to know her, and she spent an inordinate amount of time in the woods. Rumors spread. The Latin teacher spent a lot of time with her, got to know her and even approached her stepmother regarding marriage. The stepmother said no.

Agnes — that was the strange girl’s name — knew how to circumvent her stepmother. If she were pregnant, a marriage would have to be allowed. They were in love, and a pregnancy followed. After the marriage, the couple lived in an apartment attached to his parents’ house. In due time, daughter Suzanna was born. She was just beginning to talk when Agnes realized that there would be another birth by the end of winter. Agnes also realized that if her husband was to be happy at all, he must find an occupation that was more than occasional teaching and being his father’s errand boy.

The problematic birth unexpectedly produced twins: Judith and Hamnet. Judith was the second twin born and always the one who required the most attention. She was the one who got the plague when they were 11 years old; black death had originated far away but now was in England. The twins’ father had not been there when the twins were born, and he wasn’t in Stratford during the sickness. He was in London, writing and performing plays. After he received notice of Judith’s illness, he returned home.

Judith survived; Hamnet succumbed. Agnes blamed herself for not being able to save Hamnet. She never really got over the loss. Hamlet’s father spent some time at home with his wife, but soon felt the need to return to the theater group. He later wrote the play “Hamlet.” Agnes couldn’t understand why his grief at the loss of their son was not the same as hers. Perhaps, she would learn, it was.

“Hamnet” is an award-winning book and a bestseller. It is fiction anchored by a single historical fact.

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