Maggie O’Farrell: 'We've got to rebuild that feeling of security for our children'

After taking the book world by storm with her Hamnet novel, Maggie O'Farrell has written a children's book. Inspired by stories from her father, it's also linked to the need to get kids back on track after the trials of the pandemic 

Maggie O'Farrell has published  The Boy Who Lost His Spark . Picture: Sophie Davidson

It’s clear that Maggie O’Farrell is not one to feel sorry for herself. The writer is at the tail end of her third bout of Covid with a lingering cough but she says she’s fine, that it sounds worse than it is. Her encounters with the dreaded virus certainly haven’t interfered much with her productivity.

The Marriage Portrait, her eagerly awaited follow-up to the acclaimed Hamnet, hit the shelves in August, and hot on its heels is The Boy Who Lost his Spark, her second children’s book.