This is a story of how a great loss resounds through literary history. Hamnet was Shakespeare's son. The father son relationship was frayed. 11 year old Hamnet was left to be the "man of the family" back home while Shakespeare lived the life of an honored playwright in London. The relationship between Shakespeare and Anne/Agnes alternates between great love, admiration for her strength and independence, and abandonment. It was the time of the plague, of constant struggle and great tragedy. If we are to accept O'Farrell's history, the tragedy of Hamlet was a way for Shakespeare to honor that son and acknowledge the debt he owed his wife. I struggled with the omniscient narrator at first but once Anne took over as the primary voice, I was thoroughly caught up in the story. Guess we will never tire of the Shakespeare mystery.
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