The bestselling author Maggie O’Farrell’s beloved Hamnet has been adapted into a blockbuster film. Directed by Chloe Zhao, it’s set to release on November 26th. To celebrate the release, here is a look back on some of our favorite novels she has written.

Hamnet 

Told from the point of view of Agnes—Shakespeare’s wife—the story kicks off in 1580 in the throes of the Black Death. Agnes is a talented healer and an eccentric woman who lights a fire under her young, poor husband. Inspiring him as he begins to ascend in his career, the two endure a horrendous loss that is believed to inspire the infamous Hamlet.

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The Marriage Portrait

A New York Times bestseller, this novel is set in 1550’s Florence and follows Lucrezia, the daughter of the arch duke. After her sister’s marriage she is flung into the limelight and quickly gets the attention of another duke, Alfonso. Now barely out of girlhood, the new bride must acclimate to an unfamiliar home and a court where she is not entirely welcomed. Lucrezia is burdened by pressure to birth a new heir and continually questions her husband’s true character. Moreover, she must contemplate her place in this dynasty and the future her name, and her freshly painted portrait, will uphold.

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I am, I am, I am

A memoir of the seventeen near death experiences that defined the New York Times bestselling author’s life and writing. O’Farrell writes about a childhood illness, a dangerous teenage escape, a run-in with a disturbed man, and the ongoing battle she has with her own daughter’s condition that threatens her life everyday. In restrained prose that show a glimmer of the emotions and peril pooling beneath the surface, O’Farrell shows the beauty and mystery of life itself.

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The Hand that First Held Mine

Fiercely independent Lexie Sinclair escapes country life to become a magazine editor in London. She falls in love with the city’s art world, and gains the confidence to raise a baby on her own after finding out she’s pregnant. Fifty years later in present day London, a young painter named Elina becomes unrecognizable during her own pregnancy. Her concerned partner, Ted, keeps recalling unfamiliar memories that become more and more unsettling; until finally, these two women’s lives intertwine in a startling revelation.

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After You’d Gone

Alice witnesses something horrifying while traveling home from London. Moreover, after an alleged  suicide attempt, she falls into a coma. Slipping in and out of consciousness, Alice recalls memories of former relationship while listening to the conversations and arguments between the tense  family members who surround her. Memories and secrets are revealed through the perspectives of multiple characters and interwoven through time in this story full of depth and intrigue.

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The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Iris, the owner of a vintage shop, receives an unexpected message from Cauldstone Hospital—her great aunt Esme whom she never knew existed is being released from the mental hospital. Excited by the prospect of learning new family secrets, Iris  decides to take her estranged relative in.

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