Is ‘Hamnet’ Based On A True Story? Here’s What We Know About The Film Starring Jessie Buckley

Hamnet, the film directed by Chloe Zhao, is currently the talk of the town. Hamnet is based on the 2020 novel by Maggie O’Farrell. The film starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley in the lead roles is now streaming on Peacock. Ever since the period film was released on OTT, cinephiles became curious to know whether Hamnet has any connection with the English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare. For the unversed, Shakespeare had a son named Hamnet who tragically passed away during childhood. Read on to find out the real story.

What to expect in the period film, Hamnet?

Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel and the period film, Hamnet revolves around the life of Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. While the story of Hamnet features how the family processed and navigated their grief in the wake of a tragic loss, it was their only son, Hamnet Shakespeare, who took centre stage. Paul Mescal plays the role of ‘William Shakespeare’, and Jessie Buckley plays the role of ‘Agnes’ wife of ‘Shakespeare’. Jacobi Jupe essays the role of their only son, ‘Hamnet Shakespeare’.

Both the novel and the period film, Hamnet focused on the early life of Anne Hathaway. For the uninitiated, Anne’s early life included her mother’s death and her father’s subsequent remarriage to another woman, who disregarded her stepchildren, including Anne’s brother, Bartholomew. The film also features the love story of Shakespeare and Anne, which began at the latter’s family home. Although, Anne’s stepmother forbade their relationship, the couple was forced to tie the knot when she got pregnant with their first child, a daughter named Susanna Hall, before the wedding.

Is Hamnet based on a real-life tragic incident? Find out the factual differences

At the beginning of Hamnet, three facts were laid out by Maggie O’Farrell. Firstly, Shakespeare and his wife, Anne, lived on Henley Street in Stratford, Warwickshire, with their three children, Susanna, fraternal twins, Hamnet and Judith. Secondly, the couple’s only son, Hamnet, died in 1596 when he was 11 and thirdly, four years after his son’s tragic death, Shakespeare wrote, Hamlet.

At the end of Hamnet, Maggie highlighted the changes or fictional elements in addition to the real-life story. One major change was the name of Shakespeare’s wife, Anne. She was addressed as ‘Agnes’ in Hamnet. Maggie explained that while many know Shakespeare’s wife as Anne, she was named Agnes in the will of her father, Richard Hathaway. Another change included the conflicting real identity of Joan Hathaway, whether she is Anne’s mom or step-mother. Maggie shared that another change in Hamnet was two conflicting opinions on where Shakespeare’s children grew up, thus she kept a version that said they lived in an adjoining property to their paternal grandparents’ house.

Is there any connection between Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the tragic death of his son, Hamnet? Here’s what Maggie O’Farrell said

In a 2025 interview with CBC, Maggie shared why she wrote a novel on a real-life tragedy involving Shakespeare and his family. For those unaware, the couple’s only son died of plague when he was 11 years old. Maggie added that Shakespeare processed his grief over his death while writing Hamlet. While the names sounded similar, it is noteworthy to mention that the greatest writer never publicly confirmed whether Hamlet was inspired by his own son’s death. She was quoted as saying:

“The whole impetus behind me writing a book was to get more people to understand that this boy had lived, and also that he was grieved and that he was loved. Definitely some of the most potent speeches in Hamlet are coming from that enormous vault of grief that Shakespeare felt when his son died.”

Have you watched the film, Hamnet? Let us know.

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