Atmospheric

filled star filled star filled star star unfilled star unfilled
alisonmwalters Avatar

By

Fleetwood Shuttleworth is desperate to keep a baby having had a series of miscarriages. Witches are suspected to be everywhere, and the tension between women who might be seen as sinister and the King’s crackdown on heretics is palpable.

In this book no one is quite what they seem to be and secrets are rife. There is definite ambiguity throughout the book, is the fox seen by Fleetwood a familiar of the title? The name of Fleetwood’s dog is Puck, which also suggests a mischievous spirit, might he also be a familiar? It is never clear if any of the suspected witches are actually so, or if they are women using the healing skills passed down to them by other women. The reader might consider to what extent women were all viewed with suspicion at this time, women are condemned on the word of a child and Fleetwood is punished for expressing her opinions against the wishes of her husband.

The novel is based on historical figures and has been successful in encouraging me to learn more about this interesting time in history.