This is the debut historical fiction by English author Stacey Halls, a story set in Lancashire around the infamous, historic Pendle Hill Witch Trials of 1612.

Fleetwood Shuttleworth, is the young mistress of Gawthorpe Hall, and is struggling with her current pregnancy, knowing that the previous ones have ended in tragic miscarriages. Fleetwood hires local girl Alice Grey as a midwife to help her with the pregnancy. Soon the troubles that are brewing around them envelop Fleetwood and Alice and they find themselves fighting potentially life threatening accusations of witchcraft. Fleetwood must fight both to save her unborn child and her friend Alice’s life. She has to manage the limitations of her role as a woman in her dealings with both her husband Richard and his friend, the ambitious magistrate Roger. Roger is determined to impress King James by ridding Lancashire of witches, even if these are merely local midwives and healers, and the only evidence against them is that they have a familiar or animal companion, that no one has even actually seen.

I enjoyed this story and its historical context. The misogyny and total lack of logic is frustrating beyond belief, but reflects the dangerous reality of the times. Fleetwood is a fairly meek character but does her best, within the confines of her role, to fight against the injustices around her. I liked her close relationship with her dog and her insistence on her riding everywhere despite her pregnancy. This was a good read about female friendship and the dangers of living as a woman in a man’s world. ( )

Diesem Roman liegt einer der bekanntesten Hexenprozesse Großbritanniens zugrunde - die Pendle Witches. Die Protagonistin ist di junge, schwangere Adlige Fleetwood Shuttleworth, die Angst hat, bei der Geburt ihres Kindes zu sterben und Vertrauen zu der kräuterkundigen Hebamme Alice Grey fasst. Als diese der Hexerei angeklagt wird, wird auch Fleetwood in die Ereignisse verwickelt, weil sie versucht, Alice zu retten.

Es ist beinahe unglaublich, dass es sich hier um einen Debutroman handelt. Der Schreibstil der Autorin liest sich flüssig, die Figuren sind glaubwürdig gestaltet und man merkt, wie viel Recherche in diesem Buch steckt. Der nächste Roman der Autorin wartet schon auf meinem SUB.

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Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a 17-year-old woman of the gentry class in England, is pregnant with her fourth child, having lost the first three. She is desperate to have a healthy baby, this being the perceived purpose of a wife in 1612, especially when the husband has property and wealth to bequeathe (a lot of it derived from his marriage to Fleetwood). Since finding a letter written by a doctor to her husband, Richard, telling him Fleetwood must not become pregnant again as she is likely to die in childbed, she is tormented with thoughts of impending death. Then, while out riding, she meets a girl, Alice Gray, in the forest and eventually hires her as a midwife when Alice proves her worth with herbal remedies. Fleetwood begins to regain her health, but then Alice is ensnared in the ongoing arrests of women in the Pendle district masterminded by her husband's friend Roger, who is trying to engratiate himself with King James I/VI who has a mania about witchcraft.

I enjoyed the story which had enough glimpses into the background of the infamous Pendle witch persecution of 1612 without focusing on the trials themselves. Fleetwood gains in confidence throughout the story, helped by her unlikely friendship with Alice which would usually be impossible given the gulf in their social positions. There are hints also that Alice might have some genuine ablities though this is left nicely ambiguous. The disadvantages of being a woman at the period, even one relatively privileged, come over clearly with the attitudes of even low class men. Roger is a particularly unpleasant character with his threat to have Fleetwood included in the accusations, made in front of Richard who does nothing to contradict his so-called friend.

I think there were one or two wrong notes in the sense of anachronisms in speech, as the story was written in a fairly simple and modern style, but these weren't too intrusive. I did wonder how Fleetwood got away with riding all over the country to carry out what in modern terms would be a private citizen's criminal investigation, given the standard misogyny of her husband. In real life, wives of prominent men were imprisoned in asylums and elsewhere for less. I liked her bond with her mastiff, Puck, who was key in providing protection at various points in the story. Overall, I would rate this at 4 stars. ( )

I know you are not meant to judge a book by its cover, but what a cover it is!

This book is simply stunning, inside and out!

Based around the Pendle witches and culminating to their trial this is a walk through history with its own little twist, breathing its own life blending fact with fiction.

I won’t go into plot breakdowns as the book blurb does that so much better than I ever could, giving just the right amount of details to draw you in if the beautiful cover didn’t do that all by itself! But I will say is this,

This book is written with magic laced throughout.

Filled with some magikal characters that have you rooting for them from the very first page and one or two that you wish to see face the same fate as the accused women, it is a sweeping tale of the women, witchcraft and life in rural England in the 1600s as well as friendship and love.

How far would you go to save a friend? One accused of murder by witchcraft. One that will surely hang for the accusation of being a witch. Set in a period of time when it was perilous at times to be a woman this book brings to life the insecurities and dangers to the woman of that time faced as well as how powerless the women really were in the face of their husbands and where men held all the power.

Knowing that a lot of the characters were real life, living and breathing people from our history as well as the real life setting of Gawthorpe Hall and details made from real history makes the whole story come alive, dancing across its pages.

A beautiful book and a wonderful story that I am sure will captivate you as much as it did me, simply brilliant!

The Familiars will be published on 04 February 2019 in kindle format and 07 February 2109 in hardback. ( )

I really enjoyed this and got very caught up in the story, my only downside is the ending, the whole build up is to the trial and you don’t actually get to see it. Otherwise solid and I’d look out for the author again. ( )