Title Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague Author Maggie O'Farrell Location Other Rating Highly Recommended Book Review For readers who want to learn more about the non fiction "Pestilence" in a fiction genre, this novel is an excellent choice. The plague was an epidemic for most of the 1500s spreading to several countries, and felt acutely in England, where this novel is set. The author imagines the life of a young and naive William Shakespeare his marriage to a country girl, him becoming a father and his only son Hamnet, dying at age 11, him writing and performing Hamlet a tragedy about a king, revenge, and a ghost. O'Farrell blends her characters with actual historical figures from Shakespeare's family and finishes them with  folklore and superstitions of the time. It was an inventive story, and would like to have read more the family unit. Submitted By Annalisa Goode Department or Major Law Status Staff Chapman Email agoode@chapman.edu