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Hamnet
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Daisy Donovan
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
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Publisher's Summary
WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"[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 is mesmerizing and seductive, an impossible-to-put-down novel from one of our most gifted writers.
What the critics say
2020, Irish Novel of the Year, Short-listed
2020, Women's Prize for Fiction, Winner
2020, National Book Critics Circle Awards, Winner
2021, British Book Award - Fiction Book of the Year, Winner
2021, Dalkey Literary Awards - Novel of the Year, Winner
2021, Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Short-listed
"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)
Featured Article: Historical Fiction Listens with Strong and Inspiring Female Protagonists
History teaches us what happened; historical fiction novels let us feel what happened. Without female protagonists in these historical fiction books, we’re only getting half the picture of what it might have been like to live through different time periods. Whether it’s a historical romance set hundreds of years ago or a twentieth-century drama based on actual events, discover listens that are both heartbreaking and humbling as female characters lead the way.
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What listeners say about Hamnet
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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.
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- Jade D.
- 2023-01-23
A New Favourite Book!
I cannot say enough about this story and it’s presentation! In true O’Farrell fashion, this story winds its way around your heart and seizes on your emotions. I found myself in tears at times, entirely transported.
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-03-15
👍🏻
really enjoyed the narrator
story started slow for me but came around at then end and really enjoyed
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- Kareem
- 2021-05-16
Wonderful performance
The narration was absolutely perfect. The story was beautiful and gut wrenching with vivid, powerful characters and the way it was all tied together was extremely well done.
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- coach amanda
- 2021-05-06
Beautifully written
This is not for everyone, but anyone who loves historical novels and fine prose, will enjoy this book
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- CRS
- 2022-01-25
A spectacularly imaginative tour de force !!!!
The narration is superb!!!!
I am left spellbound by they haunting beauty of the prose - the story is written almost entirely in the present tense which adds to the immediacy of the action , creating a kind of cinematic effect leaving the reader with the illusion of being an actual spectator to events unfolding in real time. At times ,the prose is brutal , raw and even violent ; at other times , the writing style is so eloquently lyrical that it borders on the poetic. The book is generally categorized as a work of historical fiction but the subject matter is universal and timeless .
We all have varying tastes in literature but I do think this is a book that most listeners will really enjoy .
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- Carol
- 2021-09-23
Great book
This was a very compelling story - a tale well told. I usually avoid recommending books as likes and dislikes are so subjective, but I feel I can definitely recommend this one.
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- Nathan C
- 2022-02-04
A Great Story
So happy I took this recommendation from a friend! It was a pleasure to listen to kept my attention and had an amazing ending!
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- david jones
- 2021-03-27
Brilliant
It is an awe-inspiring story based on such little knowledge we have of the greatest writer that ever lived! It had me in tears a few times - just brilliant! Beautifully narrated.
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- Amanda
- 2023-05-20
Beautiful
An absolutely beautiful and breathtaking novel. Beautifully written and fantastic narrator! Would highly recommend! Could not put it down.
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