'The darkness went on for so long, I could not remember what light looked like. But then there was candlelight, dotting my vision like pearls on a black velvet dress. A cool hand on my forehead brought me out of the darkness...'
This review contains mild content spoilers that don't affect the plot. I received a free review copy of this book from the publishers but I recommend you check out the finished copy at Waterstones with its lovely sprayed edges!
Anyone who knows me knows that I have a little bit of an obsession with all things witch. Whether it's fictional witches like my beloved Diana Bishop of the All Soul's trilogy, or the real history of witch-hunts, I can't get enough and I'm even thinking about researching witches for my PhD!
Naturally, when I received an email inviting me to the launch of Stacey Halls' new novel inspired by the Pendle witch craze, I was over the moon. The party was such a great event, with the opportunity for historical witchy fun like making a tincture and drawing our own animal familiar, plus we got to chat with the characters from the book!
This was my first blogger event and I absolutely loved it and felt Bonnier did such an amazing job. It got me so excited to read the novel and share it with customers at the bookshop.
The Familiars centres on Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a young aristocratic woman who is desperate to give her husband an heir despite her history of miscarriages. A chance encounter with a mysterious midwife gives her cause to hope - but the year is 1612, and Lancashire is about to be gripped in a frenzy caused by accusations of witchcraft.
The story features real figures from history and fills in some of the gaps in the Pendle witch hunt, which is famous for one of its key witnesses: nine-year-old Jennet Device, who notoriously testified against her entire family.
With these dramatic events as the background, The Familiars is full of intrigue and tension.
As someone who is very 'familiar' (see what I did there) with the history of witchcraft, I really enjoyed spotting tidbits of real historical fact as I was reading - though background knowledge is definitely not necessary to enjoy the book. Fleetwood's time is cleverly evoked, from the food and clothes of the rich, to the complete guesswork of 17th century medicine, to the appalling living conditions of the poor.
Whilst we get straight into the action with the dilemma of her failed pregnancies, the plot is a deliciously slow burn as the reality of court machinations and the Pendle witches' fate creeps into Fleetwood's relatively sheltered life. You get a sense of how powerless many women must have felt during this time, with everything from patronising husbands to clothing to pregnancy restricting their movement.
I revelled in Fleetwood's constant attempts to move beyond her bounds, to ride out into the landscape and take her fate into her own hands rather than fade away in her sickbed at home. She's an active and outspoken heroine, with a large dog and no fear of riding great distances to find answers to her questions.
For all that, Fleetwood is young, rich, and naive, and the novel quite rightly shows the stark contrast between her life and that of the enigmatic Alice. How the two women eat, dress, and spend their time is a world apart. They also show two sides of the coin of motherhood in this time period, with Fleetwood's whole future dependent on the son she desperately awaits, whilst her childless midwife is wary of the dangers posed by pregnancy.
Alice is an intriguing character, like a moon half in shadow: we learn more about her when she herself is no longer present, and her inner life and motivations remain closed off for the most part, as Fleetwood struggles to reach across the class divide and understand her friend. This reminds me of the true nature of historical research, since there is so little record of the lives of the poor.
Like the amber-eyed fox that won't quite stay on the page long enough to reveal its secrets, Alice is a liminal character, refusing to be understood or defined. But then, there are also shadows in Fleetwood's past that dart away when looked at directly: it's abundantly clear that 17th century women didn't have an easy life, regardless of status.
My favourite thing about The Familiars is its shades of grey; the way it hovers in between truth and fabrication, supernatural and superstition. Nobody will ever truly know what motivated Jennet Device to accuse her mother, grandmother, and siblings of a crime so frightening to the king that it led to their execution, and the question of what, exactly, so-called witches were doing in this time period is one that reverberates down through the centuries.
Was it all a conspiracy against women and their childbearing powers? Was it about class power, or neighbourly disputes? Was there a sliver of a chance that they really were performing magic, with knowledge since forgotten?
I don't think The Familiars attempts to answer these questions, but it certainly weaves them subtly into its pages, and I for one will be troubled for quite some time by the question of what exactly Alice did with the bowl of blood.
In conclusion, if you like a good slow-burner, historical detail, fiesty heroines, or having a chill sent down your spine, you will find plenty to love in this book.
My rating: 4.5 stars