Maggie O’Farrell never disappoints. Her work is like no one else’s. Hamnet is totally absorbing. It made me research the life of Shakespeare a little more and even book a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon to look further! Really inspirational. Thank you Maggie.

A well written account of life and , sadly , death in the sixteenth century. Maggie O’Farrell captures the complex relationships between the key characters and the random nature of fate. In many ways, a tale that resonates with our current times.

I am just rereading Hamnet for my book group. I think it is even better the second time around. The detail is absolutely wonderful, and the writing style is beautiful. Maggie O'Farrell has really excelled herself with this book. It is her best yet.

I have never read anything like Hamnet. I had no idea I needed a book like this in my life, but reading this over the past few days has been an absolute pleasure. I found the structure a little challenging at first, with the jumping around all over the place and between times. But I got used to it eventually, and having finished the book I actually think it works very well. The writing itself is stunning - the detail Maggie O'Farrell goes into was just spectacular. I had no idea I wanted to know all the tiny details of how the plague potentially reached England, until I was reading about the monkey and its little fleas. I've also never considered Shakespeare as a person outside of his writing, and especially never thought about his kids. I really enjoyed all the mentions of the different plants and herbs, and the animals too. I loved absolutely every detail, and I think O'Farrell has done an outstanding job with this work of fiction. I truly loved it.

This has to be the best book I have read in a very long time. I literally could not wait to pick it up to read and was so reluctant when I would have to put it down. It is such a moving story and very emotive. You can really feel the pain and despair. It is also so very beautifully written, every word, phrase and line helping you enter a period of time to feel you could actually be there. I had and could see each character in my head. I cannot really find the words to say how wonderful the experience of reading this book was. Maggie O' Farrell has a unique, magical and wonderous gift. I wil certainly be reading more of her books. I can't reccomend this book enough - all my family will be receiving a copy of Hamnet at their Birthdays this year. I know I will read this book many times. Beautiful.