The Familiars follows the story of Fleetwood Shuttleworth, who becomes entangled in the 1612 witch-trials of Lancaster as she tries to secure a safe birth for herself, and her unborn child, after her previous pregnancies have all ended in disaster.
I really really enjoyed this novel. I was expecting it to be very slow but the plot is surprisingly pacey and exciting, and the writing is rich and evocative without feeling slow or laboured. It is magical without being mawkish, and deeply feminist without pretending that women in the 16th Century had some kind of girl-power agency that was simply not available to them.
I also love the character of Fleetwood and rooted for her so hard the whole way through. She begins as a timid sweet young woman, whose greatest wish is to please her husband and bear his child, and her growth over the novel is so much fun to watch. Her relationships, with her husband Richard and her midwife Alice, are complex and nuanced, and the book does a great job of showing how true relationships become tarnished and difficult, and how growth and healing comes from admitting that and finding peace with the imperfection of the people you love.
The novel leaves a lot to the imagination, and much is left for the reader to decide for themselves. This might frustrate some readers but I really appreciated that subtlety, and the acknowledgement that, in the 17th century, the line between 'witches' and 'independent women who don't toe the line' was decidedly muddy. There was an aspect of the ending I didn't enjoy, but honestly it didn't justify knocking off a star, so this gets the full five. The Familiars was an absolute delight and I would happily recommend it to anybody who enjoys historical fiction, magical realism, or a female bildungsroman.
I really really enjoyed this novel. I was expecting it to be very slow but the plot is surprisingly pacey and exciting, and the writing is rich and evocative without feeling slow or laboured. It is magical without being mawkish, and deeply feminist without pretending that women in the 16th Century had some kind of girl-power agency that was simply not available to them.
I also love the character of Fleetwood and rooted for her so hard the whole way through. She begins as a timid sweet young woman, whose greatest wish is to please her husband and bear his child, and her growth over the novel is so much fun to watch. Her relationships, with her husband Richard and her midwife Alice, are complex and nuanced, and the book does a great job of showing how true relationships become tarnished and difficult, and how growth and healing comes from admitting that and finding peace with the imperfection of the people you love.
The novel leaves a lot to the imagination, and much is left for the reader to decide for themselves. This might frustrate some readers but I really appreciated that subtlety, and the acknowledgement that, in the 17th century, the line between 'witches' and 'independent women who don't toe the line' was decidedly muddy. There was an aspect of the ending I didn't enjoy, but honestly it didn't justify knocking off a star, so this gets the full five. The Familiars was an absolute delight and I would happily recommend it to anybody who enjoys historical fiction, magical realism, or a female bildungsroman.