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; a 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.
This week's book is Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell and we'll not be meeting at The Fletcher Moss on William Street in Didsbury but will be meeting online — contact us for details.