Hamnet
Winner of The Women's Prize for Fiction 2020 - the No. 1 Bestseller
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Hamnet
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Daisy Donovan
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By:
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Maggie O'Farrell
About this listen
WINNER OF THE 2020 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION - THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 2021
'Richly sensuous... something special' The Sunday Times
'A thing of shimmering wonder' David Mitchell
TWO EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE. A LOVE THAT DRAWS THEM TOGETHER. A LOSS THAT THREATENS TO TEAR THEM APART.
On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?
Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. Neither parent knows that one of the children will not survive the week.
Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright. It is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. It is also the story of a kestrel and its mistress; flea that boards a ship in Alexandria; and a glovemaker's son who flouts convention in pursuit of the woman he loves. Above all, it is a tender and unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.
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What listeners say about Hamnet
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ann
- 08-07-20
Five stars
Beautifully written, wonderful narrator, I enjoyed every minute of this fantastic book. Highly recommended. A fascinating glimpse into the past with fully rounded characters. I especially loved the descriptions of nature and the herbs and flowers from which Agnes made her lotions and tinctures.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christopher
- 05-05-21
Shakespeare in love?
Beautifully written and credible take on the real relationship between Will and Ann (Agnès?) Even explains the strange legacy of the ‘second best bed’!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SpeedyBoarding
- 30-05-21
Powerful storytelling
Utterly captivating and imaginatively created storytelling. The narrator’s style made a valuable contribution - I liked its pacing and dialogue styles. Some reviewers have found it too quick but I enjoyed being swept along by it, headlong into each phase of the growing calamity... so often narrators can be a bit plodding but Daisy Donovan conveyed ideas at the speed we might think them - and that worked, for me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR D C WILLIAMS
- 10-12-20
Beautiful. Sad. You will cry.
Daisy O'Donovan's performance is outstanding and she is able to bring Farrell's beautiful prose to life incredibly skillfully.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- gerry
- 12-12-20
simply superb
This is a wonderful story, superbly narrated and beautifully written. It captures the era and every character is believable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Phyl O'Leary
- 09-02-21
An utterly engrossing story
From the beginning I was transported to the 17 th century. Reading it while living with coronavirus I was fascinated by how the plague reached Juliet in Stratford. Each step presented a new place, a new world. I loved the language and loved each character even the one who remained nameless! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves well written stories with depth.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rosie Brigham
- 17-02-21
don't listen to this if you need a pick me up
Exceptional story, wonderful storytelling - just quite sad! Really beautifully written book however. two words remain
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Valerie Mager
- 26-02-21
Hamnet
Interesting story. I thought the emphasis on the heroine's otherworldliness was going to lead to a narrative about witchcraft and witch hunting but bubonic plague was the actual mover of the main events. I wasn't convinced by the conclusion but enjoyed the references to Hamlet and the husband playwright from Stratford on Avon: the young Shakespeare perhaps?
Beautifully and sympathetically read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christine D
- 08-04-21
A gripping and moving tale.
I absolutely loved this story. I didn't want it to end. Maybe not the best reader I have heard, but the story had me gripped from start to finish.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- esther curry
- 03-11-20
Carried along like a stage production
Just wonderful, Daisy Donovan gave for me a breathtaking narration - could have been in the round wooden theatre. A great listen
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