While I knew what to expect from the synopsis, I was still surprised by the tone of this novel and where its focus really lay. Several of its characters are based on real people in Lancaster during the witch hysteria of the early 1600s. 'Assured and alluring, this beautiful tale of women and witchcraft and the fight against power was a delight from start to finish' Jessie Burton, author of THE MINIATURIST 'The Familiars is an intricate and sensitive portrayal of a brave, tenacious young girl carving her place in the world. The Familiars is a historical fiction witch novel inspired by the real life Pendle Hill Witch Trials of 1612. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake. But is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Soon the two women's lives will become inextricably bound together as the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood's stomach continues to grow. As Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the north-west, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her. Alice promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong. Then she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn't supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. The most spellbinding debut novel of 2019 In a time of suspicion and accusation, to be a woman is the greatest risk of all.
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