CW: Miscarriage
Fleetwood Shuttleworth is the lady of Gawthorpe Hall and the wife of Richard - let's call him a 'Yuppie' of the Stuart Court of England. Richard desperately wants a male heir to inherit his fortune but Fleetwood has suffered multiple miscarriages.
When Fleetwood finds that she is once again pregnant, she seeks out Alice Gray, a local midwife. Alice becomes embroiled in accusations of witchcraft which leaves Fleetwood desperate to save her from death for the sake of her unborn child. To free Alice, Fleetwood finds herself drawn into the dark goings on in Lancashire, much to the chagrin of her husband and 'society.'
The first half of the book was hard work. It was pretty slow and also very VERY heavy on the concept of a woman's ability to provide children making up her worth. Big warning that if you have struggled with miscarriage, the thoughts of worthlessness that Fleetwood tackles are not easy reading. Of course, the story is of its place in time but still, I want to be clear on that warning.
I would say this book's blurb is very misleading. The book isn't full of witchcraft at all. To be fair, it's probably more accurately represents the level of witchiness that actually went on outside of peoples' imaginations i.e. none. The story focuses far more strongly on Fleetworth, her relationship with her husband and her longing for a child.
An enjoyable but average read, similar in style and pace to The Binding and Phillippa Gregory's Tudor Court novels.
Fleetwood Shuttleworth is the lady of Gawthorpe Hall and the wife of Richard - let's call him a 'Yuppie' of the Stuart Court of England. Richard desperately wants a male heir to inherit his fortune but Fleetwood has suffered multiple miscarriages.
When Fleetwood finds that she is once again pregnant, she seeks out Alice Gray, a local midwife. Alice becomes embroiled in accusations of witchcraft which leaves Fleetwood desperate to save her from death for the sake of her unborn child. To free Alice, Fleetwood finds herself drawn into the dark goings on in Lancashire, much to the chagrin of her husband and 'society.'
The first half of the book was hard work. It was pretty slow and also very VERY heavy on the concept of a woman's ability to provide children making up her worth. Big warning that if you have struggled with miscarriage, the thoughts of worthlessness that Fleetwood tackles are not easy reading. Of course, the story is of its place in time but still, I want to be clear on that warning.
I would say this book's blurb is very misleading. The book isn't full of witchcraft at all. To be fair, it's probably more accurately represents the level of witchiness that actually went on outside of peoples' imaginations i.e. none. The story focuses far more strongly on Fleetworth, her relationship with her husband and her longing for a child.
An enjoyable but average read, similar in style and pace to The Binding and Phillippa Gregory's Tudor Court novels.