The Latest Breaking News from Shakespeare

As Hamnet arrives on the big screen, many fans of the book may feel a familiar mix of excitement and trepidation. They may wonder how the film will bring to life Maggie O'Farrell’s intimate portrayal of Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, and the loss of their son.

4/5 Jessie Buckley, already the Best Actress Oscar frontrunner, is remarkable as William Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in Chloé Zhao’s speculative grief drama

For films and books about Shakespeare’s life, there is little source material to draw on beyond the few known facts of the great writer’s parentage, hometown, marriage, children, property and death. Shakespeare biopics therefore require considerable speculation and invention on the part of writers and directors.

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