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THIS IS AN ONLINE EVENT. Guests who pre-order a book at the time of registration will also receive temporary access to a post-event recording of this thrilling conversation. Please note the 11:30 am PDT start time. Reserve your spot early!

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Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet is one of the most exciting novels of the decade—described as “inspired,” “magnificent and searing,” a “tour de force” by literary reviewers and gracing nearly all the “Best of 2020” lists in publishing, it is a book that has already earned its place as a modern classic. A dazzling work of historical fiction, this tale takes on one of the most iconic figures in history, William Shakespeare, and one of the most challenging moments in any lifetime: the loss of a child.

Hamnet, a retelling of the plague story out of which Shakespeare experts believe the Bard’s most famous play grew, is a richly realized novel set in the lifetime of the playwright during the the Black Plague, yet he is by far the most central figure. Hamnet opens on the boy son of Shakespeare running for help after his sister's sudden onset of sickness, a sickness to which Hamnet himself will eventually succumb. Though we know the broad strokes of this story, O’Farrell crafts the world with such affecting detail that readers are transported bodily to Elizabethan England. The novel also creates a vivid portrait of a powerful woman and fiercely loving mother in the form of Anne Hathaway, a figure history has often brushed aside. O’Farrell writing has both beauty and a sense of deep human understanding sure to captivate… and Kepler’s is absolutely thrilled to welcome the author herself in celebration of the book’s paperback release.

In conversation with O’Farrell is none other than beloved local favorite and critically acclaimed novelist Daniel Mason (A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth, The Winter Soldier). Together, these two titans of literature and historical fiction discuss one the book that has everyone talking. Don’t miss the behind-the-scenes story of your next favorite read; join us to dive deep with Hamnet.

**Please consider joining with a book or donation to support the production of this event and make it possible for us to continue bringing you great conversations. Registration will close one hour before the event; please reserve your spot early to guarantee access, as registrations are limited.**

Photo of Maggie O'Farrell by Murdo Macleod. d fans and new readers alike.