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cover of episode 'Hamnet' gives life to Shakespeare's little-known son

'Hamnet' gives life to Shakespeare's little-known son

2021/12/29
logo of podcast NPR's Book of the Day

NPR's Book of the Day

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William Shakespeare had a son, Hamnet, who likely inspired one of his most famous plays and who died when he was 11 years old. Novelist Maggie O'Farrell was disappointed that more people weren't familiar with him, so she set out to fix that with her book, Hamnet. O'Farrell wanted to reimagine Hamnet's life, his death, and William Shakespeare's family life. But, she told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly, she had a much harder time writing this book than she thought she would.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)