Food and grief

Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020, Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet imagines the relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway, and the death of their son Hamnet.

Whilst Shakespeare is arguably the greatest writer in the English language, little is known about him. We know he was born and brought up in Stratford upon Avon in Warwickshire, was baptised on 26 April 1564 and died on 23 April 1616. In 1582, aged only 18, he married the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway. Their first child, a daughter Susanna, was born 6 months later, and was followed by twins, Judith and Hamnet, another two years later. At the age of 11, in 1596 Hamnet died of an unspecified cause.

From these bare bones O’Farrell has woven a rich and complex story. Whilst it is her first historical novel it shares the themes of love, marriage, relationships, parenthood and loss that run through all her other books.

At the centre of the novel is Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway. Traditionally – and perhaps unsurprisingly – Hathaway has been given a hard time by historians and biographers of Shakespeare. She has been written off as an illiterate woman who trapped Shakespeare into marriage by getting herself pregnant. The fact that Shakespeare spent a considerable part of his adult life in London – away from his family who remained in Stratford – has been interpreted as a sign that the marriage was unhappy, reinforced by the fact that in his will he left Anne their ‘second best bed’.

However, O’Farrell rewrites this marginal woman, making her a fully-developed and amazing figure in her own right. Renamed Agnes – as she was referred to in her father’s will – O’Farrell’s creation is beautiful, independent and bestowed with a sixth sense and a talent for herbal medicine. The young William Shakespeare – who is never named in the book – is presented as lovestruck on first sight of her, and never wavering in his love. Agnes and the children don’t join him in London – despite an initial plan that they will do so – because the girl twin Judith is sickly and her parents fear she will not thrive in a city environment. And O’Farrell follows in the wake of recent historians and writers who have pointed out that Shakespeare’s decision to bequeath his wife the ‘second best bed’ should be read as an act of love rather than as an insult. At this time, the best bed in the household was reserved for guests, whereas the ‘second best bed’ would have been the marital bed. Towards the end of Hamnet, when Shakespeare has bought a new house for his family – New Place, the house in which he died in 1616 – O’Farrell describes how the elder daughter, Susanna, at her father’s request buys furnishings for the new house, including a new bed: ‘Her mother, however, refuses to give up her bed, saying it was the bed she was married in and she will not have another, so the new, grander bed is put in the room for guests’.

Whilst Agnes Hathaway is the central figure in the novel, its title is Hamnet, the name of Shakespeare’s son who died at the age of 11. The cause of his death is not recorded but it is widely assumed that he died of the plague, a common occurrence at this time (the London theatres were closed between 1592 and 1594, and between 1603 and 1604 to try to limit the spread of the plague). The fact that the novel was published in March 2020, as the UK entered its first lockdown to try and combat the spread of the 21st century plague, Covid-19, is darkly ironic and imbues the novel with topical relevance.

Agnes and William’s response to Hamnet’s death is portrayed with visceral power and great sensitivity. In a Guardian interview earlier this year after winning the Women’s Prize for the novel, O’Farrell talked about her annoyance with the way Hamnet has been overlooked, ‘his death often dismissed as an inevitability of the high child mortality rate’ of the time. The fact that Shakespeare named his greatest tragedy, Hamlet, a play which is imbued with grief and loss, after his son (the names Hamnet and Hamlet were interchangeable at the time), suggests the profound impact this boy’s loss had on his father.

In O’Farrell’s novel Shakespeare rushes back to London as soon as possible after Hamnet’s funeral, desperate to escape the reminders of his son everywhere around him in the family home, burying himself in his dramatic work. Agnes is horrified at his departure, which leaves her desperate and alone in her grief. This woman, who had always revelled in life, now finds that it lacks all meaning: she stops taking care of the house and cannot see the point of cooking: ‘She cooks it, they eat it and then, later on, they eat more’. The family’s friends and neighbours are unsure what to do: ‘people don’t always know what to say to a woman whose child has died. … some will cross the street to avoid her merely because of this’. But those people who do respond, often do so through food: a source of both practical help and comfort. ‘people not considered to be good friends will … leave bread and milk on your sill..’

When Agnes finds out, from her stepmother Joan, about her husband’s new play, Hamlet, she is struck by grief all over again. The malevolent Joan, who has little love for her stepdaughter, is happy to twist the blade further as she recognises Agnes’ shock at hearing this news: ‘”It’s a tragedy”, Joan continues, baring her teeth in a smile. “And I am certain he will have told you the name of it. In his letters. Because of course he would never call it that without telling you first, would he, without by-your-leave?”’

Agnes’ ignorance is compounded by her feeling of betrayal that her husband could appropriate their son’s name in this way to further his own writing career, and her grief this time manifests itself physically: ‘Agnes takes to her bed, for the first time in her life’. And once again people come to her aid with food: ‘The baker’s wife comes. She brings rolls, a honey cake’. As well as these foodstuffs the baker’s wife brings common sense and straight-talking. Sitting at Agnes’ side, feeding her bread, she asks her whether she is not interested in what is in this new play. Her simple question triggers Agnes’ curiosity and a resolve to go to London, which results in her seeing the play and understanding that this great dramatic piece, far from being a travesty of their son, is the greatest memorial to him there could be.

So, in honour of this wise baker’s wife, I made honey cake. Recipes for honey cake date back to at least the Middle Ages, with honey being a popular sweetener at this time, owing to the high cost of sugar. This is my 21st century version: a cake to comfort and soothe.

HONEY CAKE
Ingredients:
175g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
100g plain flour
75g ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon liquid honey
1/2 teaspoon almond essence
For the glaze
1 tablespoon clear honey
juice of 1 lemon

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C / 160C fan / Gas mark 4. Grease and line a loaf tin.
Sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl. Stir in the ground almonds.
In another large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the beaten egg mixture a little at a time, beating well between each addition so the mixture doesn’t curdle. Then fold in the dry ingredients until the mixture is well-blended. Finally stir in the honey and almond essence.
Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 1 – 1 1/4 hours until well-risen, golden brown on top and the mixture springs back when lightly pressed. Try to avoid opening the oven door too early – as I did – as the mixture may well sink!
When the cake is ready, remove from the oven. Mix the honey and lemon juice for the glaze, pour into a small saucepan and heat to just below boiling point. Pierce holes in the top of the cake using a skewer, cake tester or thin knife and pour over the honey and lemon mixture whilst the cake is still hot. Leave to cool in the tin. Turn out and cut into thick slices. It’s particularly nice served with more honey spooned over it and yoghurt or creme fraiche.