Hamnet

FROM SARAH:

This book destroyed me, but it was also one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. A historical fiction account of the son of Shakespeare, who died at 11 years old, leaving behind his twin sister, but really the story of his mother’s grief. A heart-wrenching, gorgeous book I could not stop listening to. The audiobook narrated by Ell Potter is astounding. I wouldn't hand this to an under-18. Also: heads up for two open-door scenes.

Recommended for Mamas.

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

A young Latin tutor—penniless and bullied by a violent father—falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman. Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family’s land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose career on the London stage is just taking off when his beloved young son succumbs to sudden fever.