lou's library

So you’ve watched Hamnet and now you want to read everything the genius that is Maggie O’Farrell has ever written? (Quite understandable.) Good news for you: you’ve come to the right place. I read Hamnet for the first time about three years ago and have since made it my mission to read all of Maggie O’Farrell’s books. I have not made it through her entire back catalogue yet, but have come across some total gems on my quest. So without further ado, here are the books by her you should get your hands on immediately!

Hamnet

I’m including this in case you’ve seen the movie and now think you don’t need to read the book because you know the story. Big mistake. Believe me, you do not want to miss out on the gorgeous prose in this book, on the beautiful characterization of Agnes, on witnessing this family’s desperate attempt to heal and remain functional. This was my introduction to Maggie O’Farrell and I’m so glad about that, because what a stunning place to start!! I will keep this brief because I do hope the movie will have done most of the convincing, but seriously, this book is a masterpiece and the sort of literature no movie can ever truly compete with. So read it right now and thank me later!

After You’d Gone

My personal favourite book by Maggie O’Farrell. This book hits different and let’s just say I wasn’t prepared for it. I read the final 100 pages on public transport and wouldn’t recommend doing so. The woman next to me looked at me funny when she saw tears slipping down my cheeks. A book hardly ever makes me cry, but my god, After You’d Gone really got me. It’s about a couple living in London, which sounds so simple and straightforward, but believe me when I say that Maggie O’Farrell is so good at making the mundane beautiful, at highlighting the beauty of sharing your everyday with the right person. As you can probably guess from my crying in public, this is not exactly a cheery read (her books seldom are), but there was so much humour in it nonetheless and I do think about the protagonists about once a week.

The Marriage Portrait

I LOVE THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT SO MUCH! I could not put this book down!! It made me wanna move to Tuscany and try to escape my murderous asshole of a husband (in theory)!! This book is set in Renaissance Italy, focusing on Lucrezia de Medici, who is married at 15 to a powerful duke. Early on, she gets the feeling her husband wants to get rid of her, so she has to plot to save her own life. This is definitely the most action-packed of Maggie O’Farrell’s novels, but if you think this means she sacrificed the stunning prose for it then believe me: she didn’t. I rooted for Lucrezia like my own life depended on her survival and the vivid imagery of Tuscany was the perfect setting. I hated every second in which I couldn’t read this book, I so desperately had to know what would happen to her. The Marriage Portrait is the book that firmly cemented my love for Maggie O’Farrell’s writing and if you only read one book from this list, make it this one.

The Distance Between Us

This is a story of fate and how defined we are as people by our relationships. The Distance Between Us focuses on Stella and Jake, one of whom is running from something whereas the other one is searching for something (while at the same time also fleeing from something). When they meet, they do feel a connection but their pasts stand in between them and make things difficult for them. This book has one of the most intriguing portrayals of sisterhood I have ever come across in a book and is a beautiful exploration of what we have to do to overcome past trauma and mistakes. It’s a quiet book in some ways, but also packs a punch emotionally (a recurring trend with Maggie O’Farrell). I would say The Distance Between Us is one of her more underrated books, so do give this one a go!

There you go, the books I would recommend to start your Maggie O’Farrell obsession. I hope you found this enlightening. Happy reading!