Hamnet true story: is the film a truthful account or historical fiction?

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Hamnet premiered in UK cinemas almost a week ago to widespread critical acclaim, and it’s expected to remain popular for several weeks, potentially becoming a significant contender during awards season.

I was thrilled to see Chloé Zhao’s film win the Golden Globe for Best Drama last night! I really think it has a great chance at the Oscars in March, and could definitely go up against strong contenders like Sinners and One Battle After Another for the Best Picture award. I’m rooting for it!

The movie features Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal portraying Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare, and tells the story of their profound grief following the death of their son, Hamnet.

The film also implies that Shakespeare’s most celebrated play, Hamlet, was likely written after the death of his son. The opening credits explain that ‘Hamnet’ and ‘Hamlet’ were considered variations of the same name at the time.

How much of the movie is based on real events, and how much is made up? Keep reading to find out.

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Hamnet true story: how accurate is the new film?

It’s important to remember that Hamnet is a historical novel, not a completely accurate biography. It explores the life of Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, and the grief his death caused his family, but it’s a work of imagination, not a strictly factual account.

The film, like Maggie O’Farrell’s original novel, explores a possible scenario based on historical accounts. It’s similar in approach to the film Shakespeare in Love, which also imagined a fictionalized past, but it’s much more serious and subdued in tone.

It makes perfect sense that writers adapting Shakespeare’s life would use historical fiction – Shakespeare himself frequently used the genre in plays like Hamlet and Macbeth.

I learned from the author’s note at the end of the book that this story, while fictional, was actually sparked by the real, tragically short life of a boy who passed away in Stratford-upon-Avon back in the summer of 1596. It’s amazing to think about the connection to a real person and time!

She explained that she made an effort to stay true to the limited historical information available about Hamnet and his family. However, she also noted that she changed or omitted a few details, including some of the characters’ names.

O’Farrell also noted that while most people know Shakespeare’s wife as Anne Hathaway, her father’s will lists her as Agnes, suggesting she sometimes used that name as well.

Most importantly, the author points out that the exact cause of Hamnet’s death remains a mystery – historical records don’t state what he died from, only that he was buried.

Shakespeare never wrote about the Black Death – or ‘pestilence’ as people called it back then – in any of his works. This has always struck me as odd, and my novel is essentially an exploration of what might have been behind that silence – a kind of imaginative pondering on the subject.

How accurate is the portrayal of Agnes Hathaway and William Shakespeare’s relationship?

The movie begins by showing how Will and Agnes fall in love. They meet because Will takes a job tutoring Agnes’s younger brothers and sisters – a way for the Shakespeare family to pay off a debt to the Hathaways.

Right from the start, Agnes feels like an outsider in her own family, though thankfully she has her brother Bartholomew (Joe Alwyn) in her corner. The townspeople are wary of her, mostly because she’s into things like folk medicine, making her own herbal remedies, and just generally connecting with nature – she even has a hawk! It’s clear she finds joy in simple, elemental things, and it sets her apart from everyone else.

Most people would be turned off by Agnes, but Will is captivated by her. They become engaged quickly, and when Agnes reveals she’s pregnant, Will’s family, though still wary of her, reluctantly accepts her into the family.

We don’t actually know much about Agnes’ life or her marriage. It’s not surprising that there’s no proof she had healing abilities or could predict the future, as depicted in the movie – that seems to be a creative addition by the author, O’Farrell. In fact, most of the scenes showing their relationship are likely fictional rather than based on real events.

Speaking with The Guardian around the time her book came out in 2020, the author said she wrote the story to challenge the common academic and biographical tendency to overlook or dismiss Agnes Shakespeare. She argued that there’s no proof Shakespeare disliked his wife or family life.

In an interview on the Shakespeare Unlimited Podcast, she discussed why Anne Hathaway married William Shakespeare. She wondered what might have attracted her to him, particularly considering he was a young, poor man. She suggested Anne may have recognized something special in him – perhaps she saw his extraordinary talent and realized he was a uniquely gifted individual.

I think that’s how it all started – she seemed to be the only one who truly understood him and recognized his potential.

Did William Shakespeare really have an earring?

That’s right! While a few movie viewers have pointed out that Paul Mescal’s earring might not be perfectly historically correct, many pictures of the famous playwright actually depict him wearing a similar golden hoop earring – a popular style during that era.

In an interview with GQ, the costume designer for the film, Malgosia Turzanska, revealed that the earring was essentially the sole element she took from existing portraits when designing the character’s appearance. This was partly because there aren’t many reliable images of Shakespeare available.

She described it as a chance to completely reinvent the character without needing to be faithful to the original. She emphasized that capturing the right emotional impact was far more important to her than historical or factual accuracy.

Despite some minor issues, the costume was historically quite accurate. Designers researched everyday clothing from the Elizabethan era using paintings of crowds – not just formal portraits – to understand how people actually dressed.

Hamnet is now showing in UK cinemas.

Authors

Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona writes about movies for TopMob, covering new releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. He’s been with the site since October 2019, and during that time, he’s interviewed many famous actors and reviewed films of all kinds.

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2026-01-15 20:06