A wonderful historical fiction… one of the very best I have ever read. Beautifully presented.

Superb, the writing style is original and poetic, the subject matter is fascinating, the structure is perfect.

I’m left gutted and holo inside, and yet I wished it would never end. Easily one of the best books I’ve ever read. The type of book to leave you lost when you finish it.

This is another very strong contender for this year's Women's Prize. It is a historical novel, but because the events and lives O'Farrell describes are almost entirely undocumented she has much more freedom to imagine details than Hilary Mantel does in The Mirror & the Light. As she also explains in her afterword, O'Farrell changed a few minor details and names, but there is historical evidence from her father's will for her choice to name her most important character Agnes, rather than Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare himself plays a supporting role, because at heart the book is about Stratford, and for the family there what he does in London is almost unknown. The book is divided into two very different parts. In the first, the events that led to the death of Hamnet alternate with the story of William and Agnes's courtship and early marriage. The second, which forms a single long chapter, deals with the aftermath of the death and focuses particularly on Agnes and her grief. Overall, this is an impressive and moving book. We will never know how close to reality it gets, but apart from a few supernatural elements the story is mostly plausible. I would not be surprised or disappointed if this wins the Women's Prize and goes on to further recognition from the Booker.

Beautifully written and so well described. I loved absolutely this book!