And yes his wife’s name was Fleetwood Shuttleworth. Richard Shuttleworth was involved in the witch hunts and was a British MP. It was built by the Shuttleworth family in the early 1600s. I liked that the book was based on historical characters and events. And even though he is older than Fleetwood, he grew up the most in the book. The male characters are all kind of hard to like, but I feel by the end that I understand him better.

The character development was perfect, especially Richard Shuttleworth. I suspect that this is on purpose because that is how Fleetwood feels. You never have any sense of her real character. Which is interesting because, in the book, Fleetwood is described as “little ghost.” Alice is almost an enigma. Alice is like a ghost, you can never quite see her. She is strong, loyal and fiercely determined. And it’s difficult to remember that she is only 17. The book is told from Fleetwood’s perspective, so it’s pretty easy to see her journey. When Alice is arrested for witchcraft, it is up to Fleetwood to keep Alice from hanging. Alice promises to deliver Fleetwood’s baby safely and save her life.

After Alice saves Fleetwood from a horse-riding accident, she becomes Fleetwood’s midwife. And her life is in danger, Alice is a young midwife from a neighbouring village. Fleetwood is again pregnant after suffering four miscarriages. The story follows a young gentry woman, Fleetwood Shuttleworth and her midwife Alice Grey.įleetwood is the 17-year-old mistress of Gawthorpe Hall in Lancashire. The Familiars is set against the backdrop of the Pendle Hill Witch Trials of 1612. One of the best of these stories I have ever read was my latest read, The Familiars by Stacey Halls. So if we want a better world, we must tell better stories.įemale-written literature is often dark and twisty with unforgettable characters. Those roles reflect social roles in real-life society. Female characters have traditionally played particular social roles in literature. What I suggest is that you engage with it. I know feminism is a loaded term and for some its off-putting. The plan is to review more books like this and write posts about why it is so important. Across all three platforms, the majority were interested.

Mostly spoiler-free, some discussion of characters and character development.įeatured Image: Photo by Aliis Sinisalu on UnsplashĪ couple of months ago, I ran a poll on social media asking if you guys were interested in feminist literature.

The familiars book review