When nothing works, Eliza (William's sister) writes to her brother in London to tell him to come home to say goodbye. The doctor shows up and warns them that no one is to leave the house until it has passed. In 1596, Agnes finally comes home and tries to treat Judith, confirming that she has 'the pestilence' (the plague). Agnes has special abilities, where she is able to divine information about people, and she is also good with plants. Agnes and her brother Bartholomew are the farmer's children with his first wife. It results in the tutor (Will Shakespeare) meeting Agnes. John and the farmer's (second) wife Joan have an arrangement for his son William to work off the debt by tutoring Joan's sons. In an earlier timeline, John Shakespeare owes a debt to a (deceased) sheep farmer. Hamnet's father (William Shakespeare, though he is never named in the book) is in London, as usual. John is a disgraced glove maker, due to his illicit wool trading, among other things.

Hamnet searches for an adult, but the only person home is his drunk and abusive grandfather John Shakespeare. In 1596, Hamnet is a young boy whose twin sister Judith has suddenly fallen ill. The chapters jump back and forth between two timelines. Roughly four years later, his father writes the play Hamlet, interchangeable at the time with name Hamnet.)

A couple in Stratford had three children, twins Hamnet and Judith, and daughter Susanna. (The book opens with a few historical notes. In the end, Will writes the play Hamlet as a farewell to his son - it's a play where the father dies instead of the son and the ghost's final line is 'Remember me.' It follows their relationship as they deal with their grief over the death of their son Hamnet, the implications of Will's career and Will's infidelity. The three-sentence summary: Hamnet is essentially a family-type drama telling the background between Will Shakespeare and his wife Agnes.

Hamlet quick notes