Maggie O’Farrell on the ‘Hamnet’ Adaptation, Working With Chloé Zhao, and What ‘The Marriage Portrait’ Means to Her

Maggie O’Farrell has had a prolific summer. After becoming an instant bestseller and a finalist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, her 2022 novel The Marriage Portrait — which tells the somewhat true story of young Lucrezia di Cosimo de’Medici’s arranged marriage in 1500s Florence — was released in paperback. Her publisher, Knopf, is also rereleasing her backlist with brand new covers. And, this month, the stage version of her beloved blockbuster novel Hamnet — about a plague that killed Shakespeare’s young son — will open on London’s West End. Ever the cool customer, O’Farrell called up THR after a frigid evening swim in her hometown of Edinburgh to discuss her big projects (“I quite like having lots of plates to keep spinning,” she says with a laugh) and offer a status update on her first big movie adaptation.

As you’re working through your backlist to reprint them, do you reflect back on the books or analyze past work at all?

It certainly brings it all back, you have to think again about what the book meant to you and what you were trying to say. But to be honest, I don’t tend to reread my old books. I would be intrigued if anyone said they did, because I can’t imagine it. I had to write an introduction for a 10th anniversary couple years ago and that was odd because I found that I can look at a certain paragraph and remember where I was when I wrote it — which horrible bedsit I was in, which manky old desk I happened to be leaning on. They all represent a very specific point in my life and a very specific set of concerns and interests that were happening at the time.

Which point in your life does The Marriage Portrait represent?

It’s very much a lockdown book for me. I began it in February 2020, and finished it at the beginning of 2022. I don’t think it’s a huge coincidence that during those years I was writing about a girl who has no choice in life. Her destiny is very, very narrow. Even though she was born into enormous privilege and wealth, she was essentially in lockdown in her rooms in the palazzo because it was too dangerous for her to leave. I was also watching my daughters approach their teenage years, so that was a huge part of the book as well. In a way the book was a saving grace for me, because I could spend a few hours a day in 16th century Florence — it was my escape hatch.

For Hamnet, you did extensive research that including visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace Stratford-Upon-Avon; was it hard to write this book without the ability to immerse yourself in the same way?

Normally I would have gone almost immediately to Florence and Ferrarra to see the locations I was writing about, so I had to write the book a bit counterintuitively. We actually lived near Florence for six months when my son was a toddler, but I’d never been to Ferrarra and normally I have a very strict rule about not writing about someplace I’ve never been. I was worried about that, but at the time I didn’t think lockdown would last very long — I kept thinking, oh in a couple of weeks this will be over. But so much of the Renaissance is visually present in our world today, even if you’ve never been to the Accademia you know what The David looks like.

But, I was very relieved when I was able to go as soon as Italy’s travel ban lifted. I went in September 2021 and there were so few people traveling that all these places were totally empty, which was extraordinary. I have a very strong memory of going to a castello in Ferrara and standing in the doorway of one of the large salons and noticing the sunlight reflecting a pattern, from the moat outside, over the frescoes. The characters in the book must have seen that same thing on a sunny day, and I thought, that’s why I’m here. You can’t get that from the Internet.

Let’s talk about the various Hamnet adaptations that are happening — had it been a goal of yours to see this book on the stage/screen?

I’m always really open to the conversation about adaptations. It of course always has to be the right person, I wouldn’t sell the rights to just anybody. For example, I met with the people who made My Brilliant Friend, which I thought was amazing. They wanted to buy the rights to Marriage Portrait, and I was so excited because they’re my dream production company, and the fact they are based in Italy made it an even better fit. There were quite a lot of people in the conversation around Hamnet. For the stage version, I don’t think there is anybody better to do it than the Royal Shakespeare Company – I still remember very strongly when my agent called me to tell me they wanted it, because I never imagined it would be possible and it was a big surprise.

What was it about the team behind the film adaptation that felt right?

I first spoke to Hera [Pictures] a long time ago and I felt they really understood the book. They were able to get under the skin of what I was trying to do. When Chloé [Zhao] came into the picture I was so astonished because I really revere her as a director. She’s so brilliant and has such an intuitive and passionate way of approaching film.

Was there a particular film of Chloé’s you loved the most? Was this during the era that Nomadland premiered?

I’ve seen all her films, but I was particularly thinking about [2017’s] The Rider. I thought there was something so authentic about the way she devised the film. I got on a Zoom call with Chloé, and she was telling me about this very clear vision of the book and how it would be disassembled and then reassembled for the film. I loved the way she spoke about it, she knew exactly which parts she wanted to retain. She wants to film it in the UK, as close to the locations as we can get. And I loved that she wants to center the film around the character of Agnes [wife of Shakespeare and mother of Hamnet] which I think is the right thing to do. And then when she said she wanted to co-write the script with me, well, that isn’t something you say no to.

Did you have aspirations of co-writing before she brought it up?

I had thought about it, but I know in my core that I’m a novelist. But because Chloe knows how she wants the movie to unfold and unravel, and had already figured out how to navigate the way the book’s chronology slides back and forth, I could see the way it would all be structured. That’s what enabled me to be able to say yes. I don’t think I could work on this on my own.

Are there any portions of the book that you feel passionate about keeping in the film? I think of the way you trace the flu virus on its transmission to Hamnet, and it would be very hard to write into a screenplay but is one of the more beloved portions of the novel.

Well, I should say that we’ve of course had to completely stop working on the script because we’re observing the WGA strike. We collaborated for a few months but have paused for now. Hopefully things will be resolved and we can resume working on it again. But we didn’t come across any conflict in that way, in deciding what should go into the film.

The theater version has already opened in the UK, and will be transferred over to the West End at the end of the month; has watching that production illuminated anything for you?

Well Chloé was at the premiere and I think it was quite a strange experience for her. We had just started working on the script and then we saw it in the theater which can be discombobulating. But the screenwriter, Lolita Chakrabarti, did an amazing job with the adaptation, and she’s been very kind to share the script with me. In fact, she just sent me the most recent draft, because it’s been slightly revised for the London premiere. So I need to read that after we’re done. But witnessing the work of the Royal Shakespeare Company feels like this incredible secret ritual.

How have the casting discussions been coming along? There have been rumors, most recently that Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal would star…

Chloé and I have discussed it quite a lot. She obviously has relationships with lots of actors. We’ve seen lots and lots of screen tests and it’s been very exciting. I’m not allowed to say anything more, but I think she’s found two people who are going to be perfect. With the strikes, everything’s been put on hold and nothing’s on paper yet, so we’ll have to see how people’s schedules are next year.