Shakespeare's son Hamnet with Maggie O'Farrell

Not Just the Tudors

History Hit

History

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2023

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When it comes to Shakespeare's biography and his inner life, there's a certain lack of evidence. But what if Shakespeare actually signposted us to an event that radically metamorphosed his world? What if he named his most famous, most acclaimed play Hamlet after his son, Hamnet, who died at the age of 11?

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to author Maggie O'Farrell who won the Women's Prize for Fiction with her novel exploring this very question. Hamnet is now also a play by the Royal Shakespeare Company, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti, being staged at the Garrick Theatre in London. Suzannah talks to Maggie O'Farrell about both the novel and the play.

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Moaraka, and I'm excited to announce season 4 of my podcast, Mobituaries.
0:07.0	I've got a whole new bunch of stories to share with you about the most fascinating people
0:12.4	and things who are no longer with us.
0:15.3	From famous figures who died on the very same day to the things I wish would die like buffets.
0:23.9	All that and much more.
0:27.1	When it comes to Shakespeare's personal biography and his inner life, you'll find that there's a certain
0:48.1	paucity of evidence.
0:50.1	There's enough for people to be able to theorise, of course.
0:53.1	That's why some people suggest it wasn't even he who wrote the plays or others suggest
0:59.3	that he was a Catholic.
1:01.1	There's even less they'll say to go on when it comes to his wife, the woman we call
1:05.9	Anne Hathaway.
1:06.9	But what if Shakespeare gave us a really big clue?
1:11.6	What if he signposted us to an event that radically metamorphosed his world?
1:17.8	What if he named his most famous, most acclaimed play, after his son, who died at the age of
1:24.8	11?
1:25.8	Hamlet?
1:26.8	Hamlet?
1:27.8	It's just one letter different.
1:31.0	It has been hiding there in plain sight.
1:38.0	In 2020, today's guest, Maggie O'Farrow, won the women's prize for fiction with her novel
1:43.9	exploring this very question.
	...

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