Historical Note (you before even starting).
“In the 1580s, a couple living in Henley Street, Stratford, had three children: Susanna, then Hamnet and Judith, who were twins. The boy, Hamnet, died in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the father wrote a play called Hamlet.”
Jump into William Shakespeare’s world of characters in ‘Hamlet’ with Maggie O’ Farrell’s ‘Hamnet.’ The characters you may know from ‘Hamlet’ you might sense appearing in ‘Hamnet,’ keeping my fascination as a self-confessed Shakespeare nerd.
It feels as though Anges is entirely different from her family, and when she falls in love – giving birth to three children, two of them twins, they might all have some of her so-called mysterious traits. Usually, Anges gets a feeling, a sensation before an event happens. I guess almost physic. I don’t know if this is hereditary, but Hamnet seems like he days dreams a bit. I admit I found this mixed in with the lapses in time between the present and past confusing at times.
Hamnet is panicking. His twin sister is ill, and he can’t find their Mother, Grandmother, older sister, or any of his Aunts and Uncles. His Grandfather is forever working in his workshop with his apprentice. Hamnet doesn’t know where he is either; he finds his Grandfather but gets no answers and no offer of help for his twin sister. The children’s father works in London for extended periods, so he isn’t at home, and Hamnet can’t find anyone to help. The only thing he can do is pray for the impossible to take place. When his family does appear, the result isn’t what anybody expected to endue. Who are they crying tears for?
Having read, watched and studied (a bit) Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet,’ I knew the original characters and the original story. I found similarities between ‘Hamnet’ and the characters in ‘Hamlet.’ I feel like Anges is Ophelia, Mary is Gertrude, John is Claudius, and Bartholomew is Laertes, but I don’t know for definite. I’ll have to do more research.
It brings me back to the quote right at the beginning of the book (top of the page). Upon refreshing my memories, I discovered that a significant point to the plot is actually historical; whether or not it’s accurate, I don’t know. You only need to look at William Shakespeare’s family tree to see that the similarities are scary to Maggie O’ Farrell’s novel.