So this is two women’s amazing fight and friendship story against all ignorance, superstition, judgmental and biased minds! Fleetwood is afraid of losing her baby after three miscarriages at young age, she is only 17! She reads physician letter written to her husband and understands this is her last chance to give a heir to him. Well if it’s just first work of this writer, I voluntarily like to read her future works. I cannot really believe in this is a debut novel because the story is so well crafted, detailed and smartly written. King James I was obsessed with asserting power over the lawless countryside (even woodland creatures, or “familiars,” were suspected of dark magic) by capturing “witches”-in reality mostly poor and illiterate women.įour surprising witchy gothic also frustrating stars! Rich and compelling, set against the frenzy of the real Pendle Hill Witch Trials, this novel explores the rights of 17th-century women and raises the question: Was witch-hunting really women-hunting? Fleetwood Shuttleworth, Alice Grey and the other characters are actual historical figures. Time is running out both their lives are at stake. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again.

The familiars stacey halls synopsis