This is a beautifully written tale of Shakespeare's young son, who died at the age of 11. The device of switching between the immediate events leading up to Hamnet's death and the early days of Shakespeare meeting Anne (Agnes in this story), falling in love and marrying her, completely pulls you in to the characters' lives; the Tudor atmosphere of everyday life in Stratford is powerfully described. A magical atmosphere is generated in O'Farrells's description of Agnes' insight and in Hamnet's behaviour when he sees how ill his sister is and realises what he must do. O'Farrell draws the character of Agnes so lyrically. I felt so much for her in her grief. It was heartbreaking. I didn't want to finish this book. My favourite book this year!

A boy in Stratford is looking for his mother, or anyone, really, because his sister is ill. He runs through his house, the workshop, the gardens, the street. So begins this desperately beautiful book. The word Shakespeare is never mentioned - William is always called the husband, the father, the brother. It is almost as if O’Farrell does not want to use the name, as if he could get in the way. The important people in this book are Agnes, the name used for Anne Hathaway, Judith, Susanna, the girls that live, John, Mary, his parents, Joan and Bartholmew, Agnes stepmother and brother. This is a book of the people that were important, the houses, the gardens that were the setting for a brief life and the effect of a boy’s brief life. This book is incredibly lyrical, moving and intensely written. It is packed with imagery, careful descriptions and love for a narrative that is completely absorbing. It has been a privilege to read and review this extraordinary book. The opening of this novel is memorable. It is like a long scene in a film, as a young boy runs from room to room, past the place where he played, through the workshop with a grandfather who he has been warned of, into a street where everyone seems to have disappeared. If it had been a straightforward story of a boy’s illness and death, it would have been harrowing. This book is far more subtle than that. The focus goes to a young man, forced to tutor a family of boys, who gets a glimpse of a young woman with a bird. The story of that young woman is then told, of a marriage with a strange girl which is almost a folk tale, which leads to the birth of Agnes, a woman with hidden depths and abilities. As is suitable for a novel which concerns a man with a huge imagination and ability with words, this book is full of images which suggest much, words about the plants and flowers that Agnes grows, collects and uses. The cures she uses for people who come to her, the herbs and plants that she tries to save her children with. It is elemental, describing birth and fear, love and torment. The alternating storylines work exceptionally well in this book; it is not an easy subject, and it is a novel with enormous ambition to take the few details known of Shakespeare’s only son and create a story which has so many themes. The complications of family relationships, the reason why Agnes was William’s choice, the implications of a child’s death. It includes a strange and unsettling chapter on the causation of this particular case of illness, which seems totally dissociated from the rest of the narrative, yet explains so much. This is a powerful book which is a monumental achievement even for an experienced author. In some ways it is a densely written book, full of images and little stories which shows enormous understanding of the time and setting. In other ways it is lightly written, handling the biggest of emotions strongly felt by vividly alive characters. This book is an achievement by any standards, and deserves to have a huge success.

What an excellent story! It gave character to some well known names, and also a well-researched insight in to life in Tudor times. A compelling read.

I resisted reading Hamnet for quite a while, but in the end the weight of peer pressure won out, as so many people (okay three) recommended this to me. I'm not a huge historical fiction fan, and I didn't love Bring Up the Bodies as much as some, but Hamnet is something else again. It's what you might call a literary piece of historical fiction, in that its language and scene-setting is as important as plot. And you really delve into Shakespeare's world from all perspectives, not least from the female side. It's a novel of mourning and 'fire', and you will soon be regretting having to return to our ultra-sanitised modern world.

Beautifully written, O’Farrell is a master storyteller. I wish I could give this more than five stars. It’s a simple story of a family who lose a child, but so well researched and compelling.