The Familiars by Stacey Halls

Today is my stop on the Blog tour of The Familiars by Stacey Halls organised by Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers.



From Goodreads

Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.

Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.

Rich and compelling, set against the real frenzy of the 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. King James I was obsessed with asserting power over the lawless countryside (even woodland creatures or 'familiars', were suspected of dark powers) by capturing 'witches' - in reality mostly poor and illiterate women.    

My thoughts

My thanks to the Author and Publisher for allowing me to take part in the blog tour of this book organised by Tracy Fenton of TBConFB and Compulsive Readers.

First can I say what a tactile cover this book has, I read a paperback version and if you grab a copy you'll know what I mean. I give this a 4 stars or 8/10.

Set in the Lancashire area around where I live, the story weaves a narrative about real life people and historical events that happened in the early 1600's around the time of the Pendle Witch trials. Stacey Halls has written an interesting debut novel, that's well written and draws the reader in to the times that the story is set in. With so much atmosphere the story certainly relates the fear that people had for certain members of society. I wonder really what made them so fearful, perhaps it was due to the fact that many young women appeared to have knowledge of herbs and plants that would help others overcome or alleviate certain medical problems and believed them to be Witches. Many people at the period in history that the Pendle Windle Witch trials took place, believed the young women to be bad people due to the their fear or them and condemned them for the knowledge that they had. This saw many young women lose their life and in some cases subjected them to forms of torture as punishment for the knowledge they had.

I look forward to reading more by this Author and if her following work is as good as this one, then us as readers are in for a treat. She is certainly an Author to look out for in the future. This is also the perfect read for October with it being the month in which Halloween is and fits the bill nicely for anyone looking to read books set around all things spooky. However, that's not to say that this is not a great read for any time of the year or indeed a potential great reading group read.