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Hamnet
- Winner of The Women's Prize for Fiction 2020 - the No. 1 Bestseller
- Narrated by: Daisy Donovan
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
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Hamnet
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Summary
Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020
The Sunday Times best seller
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.
Critic reviews
"A thing of shimmering wonder." (David Mitchell)
"Richly sensuous...something special." (The Sunday Times)
What listeners love about Hamnet
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Leaf Green
- 20-07-20
Narrator fights writing and wins (sadly)
A very strange choice of voice for the narration, and style of speaking. Style-wise, the pace is so fast, that the poetry of the writing can't be absorbed. The voice is bland, modern, all surface, lacking in depth, more suited to a consumer affairs or news programme, than this work. This work needs more room to breathe and a voice that registers the deep feeling of life, rather than rushes on endlessly to find the next word in a shopping list.
The writing itself is most interesting, fleshing out the possible family life, domestic life, of the women in one Will Shakespeare's life and throwing out suggestions about his writing. I will read this novel myself rather than listen to a narration which takes so much away from the writing.
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159 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- DartmoorDiva
- 27-04-20
Awful narrator
I’ve only managed about half an hour of this book and I’m giving up. It really hasn’t gripped me in terms of the writing, plus the narrator has such a modern voice it just doesn’t sound at all right for the period in which this book is set. I keep coming across audiobooks with poor narration, it’s very frustrating.
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107 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 31-05-20
Good story but...
I’m afraid I couldn’t get along with the narration at all - nothing wrong with it as a performance but completely clashed with the ‘voice’ of the book and made me wish I’d just read it instead of listened to it, when everything else I’ve had on audible I’ve felt the opposite
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88 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 30-07-20
Great story. Disappointing narrator.
A well-written story about grief and loss, that is let down by a narrator who appears not to have given it the close reading it deserves before embarking upon it’s telling. The lines are loaded with emotion, but the narrator rushes through them like an actor doing the first read-through of a script - which is ironic, given the novel’s poignant connection with Shakespeare’s masterpiece and it’s protagonist.
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74 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sarah F
- 09-07-20
over hasty narration
Great book. HUGE issue with its narration. The narrator does a good job of delivering dialogue. However am truly baffled that whoever directed / produced this audiobook did not ask her to stop dashing her way manically (although admittedly with decent enunciation) through everything else. The prose needed a bit of room to breathe. I even tried the slower setting but it just sounded as if the narrator had taken a sedative so went back to the galloping. Not surprised to see that many others have made similar comments. Having listened to dozens of audio books this is the speediest prose i have ever encountered!
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64 people found this helpful
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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
- bookylady
- 28-04-20
Absolutely brilliant.
A 5* novel if ever there was one. Maggie O'Farrell brings to life of the Shakespeare family in Stratford-on-Avon before William moves permanently to London in a powerful, moving story of love, loyalty, being different, having dreams, family strife, ghosts and the ups and downs of married life.
When the Shakespeare's beloved son Hamnet dies of the plague, William cannot cope with the loss and removes himself more and more from family life. When his wife hears that he has written a play about their son she travels to London to confront Shakespeare about it.
Brilliantly written and narrated. I felt as if I was right there in Tudor times, living with a family confronting its own demons and aspirations.
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39 people found this helpful
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 30-04-20
A wonderful book
I loved this book. Every word was perfect. Elizabethan life was portrayed in fascinating detail. The grief felt (differently) by each character was detailed with such searing clarity that I was often brought to tears. One of the best books I’ve ever read.
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32 people found this helpful
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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
- Alison
- 14-07-20
Fact and fiction interwoven
Knowing very little about William Shakespeare’s personal life - his marriage, his children, his childhood, his family, I was immediately enthralled by this fascinating tale - part fact, predominantly fiction and left wondering exactly where one began and the other ended. Maggie O’Farrell has built upon the information we know about Shakespeare’s family life and created a vivid and enthralling picture of his home, family and background in Stratford. All without once mentioning his name! Women form the backbone of this story and the vivid reality of their hard life – birthing, healing, caring for children, washing, preparing food, managing a household, holding together home, husband and family and through their voice creates a narrative relevant for all times. Although clearly rooted in a 16th century background this timeless story has something to speak to for all times about love, loss, heartbreak, longing, despair and hope. I loved the performance by Daisy Donovan, bringing it easily to life, not only in my ear but in my minds eye. Well worth listening to.
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31 people found this helpful
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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
- SazMcD
- 12-08-20
Lovely, evocative story
I hesitated about buying this audible book, as several reviews commented negatively about Daisy Donovan’s reading of it, and the right reader is extremely important with a spoken story. I’m not sure if her accents were correct for Stratford upon Avon, and she occasionally mispronounced words, but all in all, she reads it well, and the criticism is misplaced.
The story itself transports you back in time, and you can feel the ambience of 16th century England. Life was more precarious then, and no one expected to raise all the children born to them to adulthood. Even so, it is a heartbreaking tale, and one which holds you to the final moment. Beautifully written, it engages you with all the main characters.
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27 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-04-20
Loved this book
I absolutely loved this book, I found it by chance and having enjoyed Maggie o Farrell before I thought I’d give it a go, not a subject matter I knew anything about but really captivating, well read and gripping.
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17 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-06-20
comments
loved it. great narration. read with clarity and great understanding of the plot. bring alive the characters. a great job done. thanks.
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3 people found this helpful
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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
- Jane F. Clifton
- 31-07-20
Superb listening
One of the best listens, so far. Daisy Donovan's precision delivery of Maggie O'Farrell's wonderful imaging of this story is a singular pleasure in these troubled times of modern plague.
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2 people found this helpful
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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
- Judy Engela
- 24-03-21
Not just narrated, ACTED
Daisy Donovan’s the best freaking narrator out there. Her voices were EXCELLENT. The acting was flipping superb. Loved it. And loved this story! Makes me want to read a biography of Shakespeare (who would have thought!).
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 24-03-21
Recommended for fans of historical fictions.
Though I usually don't like to read fictional stories based on real people, I enjoyed Hamnet, for two reasons: its authenticity and for being faithful to the 1850's. As not much is known of Shakespeare, the author may have had some freedom for creativity, but she doesn't spoil it. The story is not modern, nor medival. That was a huge relief for me.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Jennifer Olson
- 30-01-21
Pleasant Surprise.
I didn't know what to expect, but was well done both in writing and performance.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Helen taylor
- 22-02-23
Very creative and love it
Very inspiring, liked the way it changed periods, very much focused on Agnes life with grief family and others
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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
- Anonymous User
- 19-12-22
Best. Narrator. Ever.
The book is brilliant, and the narrator has such a unique and beautiful way of interpreting it for the listener. I went looking for other books by the same narrator and could only find one. Please do more, Daisy Donovan!
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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
- northernlass
- 21-08-22
Just brilliant
You have to read this book. It was awesome bought paperback for several people as well as myself as well as listening to audio book.
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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
- Brita
- 30-07-22
Brilliant in every way
I can’t tell you how much I loved this book. I ended up buying the paperback as well
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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
- Helen
- 26-06-22
Outstanding
Fantastic, magnificent, supberb, what to say about Hamnet. I loved it. The story was so well told. Daisy Donovan’s narration was just right.
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