Maggie O’Farrell was inspired by this painting of Lucrezia de’ Medici, Duchess of Ferrara – something about how skeptical, almost frightened she looks in her eyes was captivating to the author. The image becomes even more haunting when taken with the fact that it must have been completed around the time of her marriage to the Duke of Ferrara – with whom she lived for less than a year before her untimely, and some would say suspicious, death at only 16 years old. In The Marriage […]

This was a lovely novel. the sort of story that feels very comforting, even as it is at turns heartbreaking. Daniel Sullivan meets Claudette Wells almost on accident, and this is the story of their marriage. He is an American linguist with Irish roots and a penchant for studying abroad. She is a British movie star of immense fame, who tired of her life in the limelight. Both have rather significant pasts before they meet each other at a crossroads in Ireland – but once […]

Considering how much intrigue and debate there still is about Williams Shakespeare, arguably the most famous writer of all time, its not surprising that there is even less verified information about his relations. That Shakespeare was married and had three children is well-known, as is the sad fact of his only son’s passing at a young age, but their lives and personalities are largely a mystery. Into this void steps Maggie O’Farrell with her novel Hamnet. In the absence of documentary fact, O’Farrell feels free […]