Author Maggie O'Farrell on why she wrote Hamnet as film scoops Bafta

Author Maggie O’Farrell said she wrote Hamnet after becoming “enraged and baffled” that the death of Shakespeare’s son had been downplayed for centuries.

Ms O’Farrell, who is based in Edinburgh, spoke after the film adaptation of her novel won Outstanding British Film at the Baftas with actress Jessie Buckley taking the honour for Best Actress.

The film explores the impact of the death of Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, on the writer and his wife, played by Buckley.

Ms O’Farrell, during an interview with the Today programme on Radio 4, said: “I wanted the death of Hamnet to be upsetting in a way because I think for too long, for around 400 years, biographers have been downplaying it .

READ MORE: The Scotsman review of Hamnet

“There is quite a well-known Shakesperian who wrote the sentence “it is impossible to known whether or not Shakespeare grieved when Hamnet died”, which I just find absolutely enraging and baffling.

“It has never been anything less that catastrophic, anywhere in the world and at any time in history , to lose a child obviously.

“The second half of thebook and the film, hopefully, is quite cathartic. We move towards the making of Hamlet and I think that allows us to understand where art comes from and why we need it.”

In her acceptance speech, Ms Buckley thanked the author for “this gift of a role”.

READ MORE: Bafta awards 2026: The full list of winners

The actress said: “You brought the mother out of the shadows and stood her in absolution next to the giant that is Shakespeare.

“You are making history tonight as a storyteller. Thank you for your uncompromising artistry.”

Ms O’ Farrell said that the “engine of the book” was bringing Hamnet out of the shadows.

She added: “I always felt that he had been relegated to a foot note in his very famous father’s story

“I felt that not enough people knew about this boy, whose name was so similar and of course echoed the name of the play and the prince of his father’s most famous play

“What happened was that I originally wanted to write a novel about fathers and sons, which of course Hamlet is, but I became so sidetracked, as it were, by how badly I think the woman we know as Anne Hathaway has been treated by Shakesperians, scholars and biographers.”

“I wanted to ask readers to open themselves up to a new interpretation that perhaps Shakespeare did love his wife, they did have a mutual relationship.”

Ms O’Farrell said that becoming co-writer on the film had allowed her to “invite others” into the Hamnet story.

She said: “As the novelist , if you go into the film thinking ‘ I want the film to be identical to the book’, you are going to have your feelings hurt and you are going to be disappointed, because it can’t be and it shouldn’t be in a way .The film version would sit alingsde the book version

It didn’t really feel like to me like I was handing the book over to Chloe (Zhao, the director). It felt like I was inviting others to step inside.”