I had never read any of Maggie O"Farrell's fiction before - I discovered her when I was suggested 'I Am, I Am, I Am' a few years ago, and loved it. I was very excited to get my hands on her newest book, as I was eagerly looking forward to it.
I really, really liked this book - a notch right below loved. I found it so interesting how she took a real historical event, and weaved an entire fictional narrative surrounding it, how she fleshed out these characters that we may know by name but know very little else about, how she laid out the novel with alternating chapters between the events leading up to Hamnet's death and Agnes' and her husband's history. I especially enjoyed how Shakespeare was not the main focal point of the story - and in fact was never even named - but rather the emphasis was placed on the rest of his family.

I read this book in a matter of days, which is no small feat under quarantine with 2 small children demanding your attention all day!

**I will not be posting this review on Goodreads - this is my first experience with NetGalley and I didn't realize this was a possibility, and I have already posted on Goodreads. I did want to send my feedback however, in case it could be of some interest. Many thanks for a great first NetGalley read!!**

With each Maggie O'Farrell novel I read, I come to love her writing more and more.

This novel about Shakespeare's wife and children is no exception. O'Farrell's writing is cinematic, sensual and entrancing. Within minutes of starting to read, I was fully immersed in the beautiful, tragic world O'Farrell creates, fully invested in what was happening to her characters and fully in love with the story. One slight quibble was the rapidity of the ending. I really wanted the end to be just a little more developed so I could linger just a little while longer in the world O'Farrell creates
4.5 happy stars from this reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.