To say I love this book is an understatement.
I think it’s fair to say my interest in Shakespeare has always been about
Shakespeare, the man and the period he lived in, rather than an interest in his
writings. I appreciate them as the great literature, but that’s
about as far as it goes.
Of course, I have heard of Hamlet—who hasn’t?
But when I picked up this book, I approached it with no knowledge at all of
what it was about; in fact, I’m ashamed to say I didn’t even connect Hamnet to
Hamlet in any way more than a passing thought about the similarity of the
words. I now know that this book is
about the true story, imagined in fiction of course, of the death of
Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet—a son I never knew he had. But it is so much
more than that.
We are introduced to Shakespeare’s world, his wife Anne, his
parents, and his children, and I was enthralled. Historical fiction sometimes gets bad press because it is an imagining of events. But of course, it is; it has
to be, and great historical fiction can transport you straight into another
time in a way that non-fiction doesn’t always do. I didn’t want this book to
end, and when it did, it led me straight to Google to find out more about
Shakespeare’s family, particularly Anne Hathaway, in whom Maggie O’Farrell has
created a character I definitely want to know more about.
WINNER OF THE 2020 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION - THE NO. 1 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 sudden 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.
As
a person who often researches the facts in books that I have really enjoyed, I’ve yet to do that
with this tale, but it’s up there on my to-do list.
In The
Christie Affair, the author reimagines the unexplained eleven-day
disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926, and it is such a great reimagining
that I half wonder whether Ms. Gramont was somehow there.
The book is
enthralling, and if Agatha’s disappearance and re-emergence didn’t happen this
way, it should have done! So many Agatha Christie novels have made it onto TV
and the big screen; I really hope this story does, too.
Why would the world's most famous mystery writer disappear for eleven days? What makes a woman desperate enough to destroy another woman's marriage? How deeply can a person crave revenge?
"Sizzles from its first sentence." - The Wall Street Journal A Reese's Book Club Pick
In 1925, Miss Nan O’Dea infiltrated the wealthy, rarefied world of author Agatha Christie and her husband, Archie. In every way, she became a part of their life––first, both Christies. Then, just Archie. Soon, Nan became Archie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted wife, desperate to marry him. Nan’s plot didn’t begin the day…
This,
of course, very much ties into my enjoyment of Hamnet. My daughter and I
visited Anne Hathaway’s House this summer, as I was so inspired by the women in
Shakespeare’s tale, and I purchased this book by Germaine Greer to
find out what the real Anne Hathaway was like.
I know Germaine Greer as a
champion of women’s lives, so I knew I would find a sympathetic but also
un-mushy account of the woman who married one of Britain’s best playwrights and
it was exactly as I expected. The real Anne Hathaway was something of an enigma
and not much is really known about her.
In this book, the author pulls her
from the few resources into reality, and I was enthralled from start to finish. Because of the lack of information available, this book must involve conjecture and speculative language. It felt academic,
but also approachable and I loved it.
Little is known about Ann Hathaway, the wife of England's greatest playwright; a great deal has been assumed, none of it complimentary. In Shakespeare's Wife, Germaine Greer boldly breaks new ground, reclaiming this much maligned figure from generations of scholarly neglect and misogyny. With deep insight and intelligence, she offers daring and thoughtful new theories about the farmer's daughter who married Britain's immortal Bard, painting a vivid portrait of a truly remarkable woman.
This is the tale of three generations of women, linked by their
name, Elizabeth, and their family connections. Individually, they each have
their own fascinating story to tell; together, their combined stories take us on
a journey through a century of English life.
Beginning in the reign of the
great Plantagenet Kings and ending in the reign of England’s most
famous dynasty of the Tudor Kings and Queens, these three women
experienced some of the most exciting and troubled times in English history.
From the birth of our first Elizabeth, to the death of our last, they lived
through wars and coronations, births and deaths, celebration and tragedy.
Mother, daughter and granddaughter - this is the story of Elizabeth Woodville,
Elizabeth of York, and Elizabeth Grey.
My daughter loves this type of book; it’s
highly engaging and full of cliffhangers that keep you reading.
The main
characters are two brothers, and the tale is about a teenage girl and her
feelings towards both brothers. It’s a story of love, friendship and choices;
and a perfect read for the teenage market.
The Summer I Turned Pretty is now a major new TV series on Amazon Prime!
From the author of Netflix's smash-hit movie To All The Boys I've Loved Before, this is the perfect funny summer romance for fans of The Kissing Booth and Holly Bourne.
One girl. Two boys. And the summer that changed everything . . .
Every year Isabel spends a perfect summer at her favourite place in the world - the Fisher family's beach house. It has everything a girl could want: a swimming pool, a private stretch of sandy beach... and two (very cute) boys:
