Scan barcode
georginathelibrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
To hear her talk about a child that I hadn’t even known existed, despite studying Agnes’s husband at university, a child who may have died of a deadly epidemic, during that time of my own life secluded from our own deadly sickness captured my attention.
I immediately ordered a signed copy, and then it sat on the shelf as they often do, biding their time until the moment is right.
Finally the time had come to read it, prompted by my book club, and I am so glad I have. It was chosen for April as that is the month of Agnes’ husband’s birth and death, but the story is not just about that famous playwright, it is more about his family, and their grief at the loss of one of their own.
This story captured my attention anew, transporting me to Elizabethan Stratford, and had me riveted from start to finish, a feat that many books have failed to deliver of late.
I warn you, you will need tissues, this is not a happy story, but it is one that leaves a feeling of wholeness at the end, that all is as it should be.
In the words of Agnes’s husband “give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o’er wrought heart and bids it break”.
Graphic: Grief and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Death, and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual content, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Pandemic/Epidemic
enchantedelfie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Abandonment, Death, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Physical abuse
bookycnidaria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
celey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Confinement, Medical content, Gore, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Body horror
Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Many challenging topics and ideas are explored in this book. It is all done very thoughtfully.wrackcity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Confinement and Medical content
honeycrispp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Child death, Grief, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Blood, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death and Gaslighting
welkinvault's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This novel has so much detail as though the author had lived the every day domestic life of this family. In a small parochial town, Agnes is unconventional, and has a mystical spirituality.
It is an absolutely lyrical albeit tragic novel, and as an exploration of grief during plague it is wrenching but also timely in these pandemic times.
One thing, apparently in the UK this was called Hamnet. Judith IMO is an insubstantial will-o'-the-wisp character, compared to her sister, it should not have been renamed for the North American readership.
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Confinement