The story follows Fleetwood Shuttleworth, the mistress of Gawthorpe Hall, and her friendship to Alice Gray, a midwife, in the time of the Pendle witch trials (1612). Fleetwood and Alice were real people living in the same time, but little information is known about them which gave the freedom to the author to write a novel of her own focusing on them.
The story begins with Fleetwood finding a letter written by a doctor after her last stillbirth, stating that she wouldn’t survive another pregnancy. Devastated and pregnant again, Fleetwood is desperate to give an heir to her husband so when she crosses path with Alice and learns about her profession, she hires her to help her delivering a healthy baby and saving her own life. It was interesting to read about how the relationship between these two very different women turns into a genuine friendship, in the same time as Alice gets accused with witchcraft and Fleetwood tries everything to save her friend.
The novel can be read as Fleetwood’s journey to real adulthood because from the second she read that letter she becomes more aware of the people around her, she realises their actions, intentions and lies, all those things she’s never noticed or understood before. By the end of the story she turns into a strong woman who doesn’t need to rely on others anymore.
The writing style is beautiful, the author creates a great atmosphere with lots of background information about the real Pendle witch trials.
The Familiars really is “the most spellbinding debut novel of 2019” so far and I can’t wait to read Stacey Halls’ next novel.
The story begins with Fleetwood finding a letter written by a doctor after her last stillbirth, stating that she wouldn’t survive another pregnancy. Devastated and pregnant again, Fleetwood is desperate to give an heir to her husband so when she crosses path with Alice and learns about her profession, she hires her to help her delivering a healthy baby and saving her own life. It was interesting to read about how the relationship between these two very different women turns into a genuine friendship, in the same time as Alice gets accused with witchcraft and Fleetwood tries everything to save her friend.
The novel can be read as Fleetwood’s journey to real adulthood because from the second she read that letter she becomes more aware of the people around her, she realises their actions, intentions and lies, all those things she’s never noticed or understood before. By the end of the story she turns into a strong woman who doesn’t need to rely on others anymore.
The writing style is beautiful, the author creates a great atmosphere with lots of background information about the real Pendle witch trials.
The Familiars really is “the most spellbinding debut novel of 2019” so far and I can’t wait to read Stacey Halls’ next novel.