"Hamnet" by Maggie O'Farrell - Historical Fiction Book Club - Past Titles

About the Author: Maggie O'Farrell

Maggie O'Farrell is an acclaimed Northern Irish author known for her novels that often explore themes of family, memory, loss, and resilience. Her writing is characterized by its emotional depth and vivid storytelling, and she has received numerous literary awards for her work. Here’s an overview of her life and career:

Early Life and Education

Born: Maggie O'Farrell was born on May 27, 1972, in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. She spent much of her childhood in Wales and Scotland.
Childhood Illness: At the age of eight, O'Farrell suffered from encephalitis, a life-threatening inflammation of the brain. The experience of illness and near-death greatly influenced her perspective on life and has appeared as a theme in her writing.
Education: She studied English literature at the University of Cambridge. After graduation, she worked in various jobs, including journalism and teaching.

Writing Career

2000: O'Farrell published her debut novel, After You'd Gone, which received widespread critical acclaim. The novel deals with themes of love, grief, and recovery, establishing her reputation for emotionally compelling storytelling.
2005: Her third novel, The Distance Between Us, won the Somerset Maugham Award. The story follows the lives of two sisters, focusing on their relationships and secrets.
2010: O'Farrell published The Hand That First Held Mine, which won the Costa Book Award for Fiction. The novel interweaves the stories of two women from different generations, exploring themes of motherhood, memory, and art.
2017: She released I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, a memoir detailing her personal near-death experiences. The book offers a meditation on survival, fear, and the fragility of life, inspired by her own childhood illness and other life-threatening incidents.
2020: O'Farrell's novel Hamnet became a major success, winning the Women’s Prize for Fiction. The book is a fictionalized account of the life and death of William Shakespeare's son, Hamnet, and explores the impact of loss on a family. It was widely praised for its lyrical prose and emotional resonance.
2023: She published The Marriage Portrait, a historical novel set in Renaissance Italy. It centers on the young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici, who is believed to have been murdered by her husband. The novel explores themes of power, gender, and survival.

Themes and Style

Maggie O'Farrell’s writing often delves into the intricacies of human relationships and the lasting impact of trauma and memory. Her works are known for their strong character development, lyrical prose, and the ability to convey deep emotions. She frequently explores historical settings and real-life events, adding a layer of authenticity to her fiction.

Personal Life

Residence: O'Farrell currently lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her husband, novelist William Sutcliffe, and their three children.
Advocacy: Her daughter’s experience with a severe immune disorder has made O'Farrell an advocate for raising awareness about living with chronic health conditions, which she has addressed in interviews and essays.

Recognition and Impact

Maggie O'Farrell is considered one of the most prominent contemporary British authors, known for her ability to combine historical and personal narratives with great emotional insight. Her work has earned her a dedicated readership and numerous awards, cementing her reputation in the literary world.

Synopsis

England, 1580: The Black Death creeps across the land, an ever-present threat, infecting the healthy, the sick, the old and the young alike. The end of days is near, but life always goes on. A young Latin tutor--penniless and bullied by a violent father--falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman. Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family's land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose career on the London stage is just taking off when his beloved young son succumbs to sudden fever.

Historical Timeline

Context Leading Up to 1580

1558: Elizabeth I became the Queen of England. Her reign marked the beginning of the Elizabethan era, known for cultural flourishing, exploration, and political challenges.
1570s: England faced ongoing religious conflicts between Catholics and Protestants. Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, sought to consolidate power and reduce Catholic influence.
1577-1580: Francis Drake, an English privateer, undertook his circumnavigation of the globe, challenging Spanish dominance on the seas.

Key Events of 1580

September 26, 1580: Sir Francis Drake completed his circumnavigation of the globe when he arrived back in England aboard the Golden Hind. The successful voyage made Drake a national hero, brought considerable wealth to England, and increased tensions with Spain due to Drake's attacks on Spanish ships and ports during the journey.
1580: England's involvement in Ireland escalated with the ongoing Desmond Rebellions (1569–1573, 1579–1583). The conflict, mainly between English forces and Irish rebels, was fueled by resistance to English rule and religious tension, as many Irish remained Catholic. The Second Desmond Rebellion intensified around this time.
1580: The threat of Spanish invasion increased, with England becoming increasingly wary of Spain's power. Philip II of Spain was a staunch Catholic and opposed Elizabeth's Protestant policies, leading to rising diplomatic and military tensions between the two nations.
1580: The English government continued to enforce laws against Catholics. Recusancy laws, which fined or punished those who refused to attend Anglican services, were strictly enforced to reduce Catholic influence.
1580: Jesuit missionaries, including prominent figures like Edmund Campion and Robert Persons, arrived in England. Their mission aimed to rekindle Catholicism in England, leading to a crackdown on suspected Catholics by the authorities.

Broader Context in the 1580s

Cultural Developments: The 1580s were a period of cultural growth, especially in literature and drama. Figures such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe began emerging as influential playwrights in the coming years.
Exploration and Colonization: This era saw the beginnings of England's expansion overseas. The successful return of Drake and other privateers encouraged further exploration and efforts at colonization.

The year 1580 was marked by a mixture of political, religious, and exploratory developments, setting the stage for significant events in the following decades, including the Spanish Armada's attempted invasion in 1588.

Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell
Call Number: FICTION Cornwell
In the heart of Elizabethan England, Richard Shakespeare dreams of a glittering career in one of the London playhouses, a world dominated by his older brother, William. But he is a penniless actor, making ends meet through a combination of a beautiful face, petty theft and a silver tongue. As William's star rises, Richard's onetime gratitude is souring and he is sorely tempted to abandon family loyalty. So when a priceless manuscript goes missing, suspicion falls upon Richard, forcing him onto a perilous path through a bawdy and frequently brutal London. Entangled in a high-stakes game of duplicity and betrayal which threatens not only his career and potential fortune, but also the lives of his fellow players, Richard has to call on all he has now learned from the brightest stages and the darkest alleyways of the city. To avoid the gallows, he must play the part of a lifetime...
The Secret Life of William Shakespeare by Jude Morgan
Call Number: FICTION Morgan
There are so few established facts about how the son of a glove maker from Warwickshire became one of the greatest writers of all time that some people doubt he could really have written so many astonishing plays. We know that he married Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant and six years older than he, at the age of eighteen, and that one of their children died of the plague. We know that he left Stratford to seek his fortune in London, and eventually succeeded. He was clearly an unwilling craftsman, ambitious actor, resentful son, almost good-enough husband. But when and how did he also become a genius?
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
Call Number: FICTION Picoult
Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn't level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym. In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage--by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work. Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face.