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Hamnet and Judith
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Daisy Donovan
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction
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Publisher's Summary
Winner of The Women's Prize for Fiction
New York Times Best Seller
"[An] exceptional winner.... It expresses something profound about the human experience that seems both extraordinarily current and at the same time, enduring." (Martha Lane Fox, Chair of The Women's Prize for Fiction judges)
Two extraordinary people. A love that draws them together. A plague that threatens to tear them apart.
England, 1580. A young Latin tutor - penniless, bullied by a violent father - falls in love with an eccentric young woman: a wild creature who walks her family's estate with a falcon on her shoulder and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer. Agnes understands plants and potions better than she does people, but once she settles on the Henley Street in Stratford she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband. His gifts as a writer are just beginning to awaken when their beloved twins, Hamnet and Judith, are afflicted with the bubonic plague, and, devastatingly, one of them succumbs to the illness.
A luminous portrait of a marriage, a shattering evocation of a family ravaged by grief and loss, and a hypnotic recreation of the story that inspired one of the greatest literary masterpieces of all time, Hamnet & Judith is mesmerizing and seductive, an impossible-to-put-down novel from one of our most gifted writers.
Published as Hamnet in the US and the UK.
What the critics say
"Hamnet & Judith is a beautiful read, a devastating one, intricate, and breathtakingly imaginative. It will stay with me a long time." (Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry)
"What could be more common, over centuries and continents, than the death of a child - and yet Maggie O’Farrell, with her flawless sentences and furious heart, somehow makes it new. This story of remarkable people bereft of their boy will leave you shaking with loss but also the love from which family is spun." (Emma Donoghue, author of Room)
"Love, grief, hope, resilience - the world of this novel is so vivid I could nearly smell the grass in the fields, hear the rain in the gutters. In moments where the story shoots up to heaven I was there, too, grieving with these characters, feeling how lucky we all are to be alive, understanding how desperately we want the people we love to be remembered. It’s without a doubt one of the best novels I’ve ever read." (Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes)
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What listeners say about Hamnet and Judith
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Eric Gozna
- 2020-09-25
Amazing
This is one of the best novels I’ve ever read...and I think that it has some historical elements makes it even more fascination. The Raiders voice is captivating and I enjoyed her voice more than I would just reading the book. I could not stop listening to this book. Description and language is mesmerizing.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-08-20
Best Book of the Summer
I loved this book - cover to cover... It is tragic and fanciful... a little bit magical... It is about grief and loss and redemption - parental love and the courage to embrace the change left by death... It is about a woman of strength and wisdom... It is worth every minute!!
2 people found this helpful
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- Sonia Hughes
- 2020-08-20
Excellent!
Rich text...beautifully performed. As an English teacher it is hard to please me. This novel and performance did not disappoint!
2 people found this helpful
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- MM
- 2020-10-03
Enchanting
I loved how the author engaged the senses in her description of life in the 1600s. It was a vivid, poetic, moving story. Really enjoyed the narration as well.
1 person found this helpful
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- Adelle
- 2021-01-05
Lovely Book
This is one of the finest books, audio or otherwise, that I have read in many years. The historical setting, fascinating, characters and compelling story kept me wanting more. The writing was so engaging and vivid and the narration was perfection. I will be looking for other books by O’Farrell.
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- Maureen
- 2020-12-27
Beautiful and detailed
Beautiful and detailed... just a little long and slow at times for this listener...but if you know what you're in for, its a great book.
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-12-08
Amazing!
This may be my favorite book of all time. The writing was stunning and the story beautiful. The narrator was perfect.