The Familiars by Stacey Halls

For my next read, I decided to carry on with my StoryGraph Onboarding Challenge. My next prompt was to "read a book that you find using the filter that has two moods attached and excludes a genre." After a little consideration, I set the site's filters to find me a dark and emotional book that was not a fantasy. I had been noticing that a lot of my recommendations leaned in the fantasy direction (which makes since, given my usual preferences) and I wanted to see what else StoryGraph thought I might like. It gave me The Familiars by Stacey Hall. I'd never heard of this historical fiction novel before, but its summary sounded interesting enough to give it a try. Curious to see if this would actually be a good recommendation for me, I got started.

The novel is set in England in the year 1612. A young noblewoman named Fleetwood Shuttleworth is pregnant, and quite worried. She's had several miscarriages in the past and is desperate to bring a child to term. Her husband Richard is longing for an heir and she feels as if she's failing in her fundamental duty as a wife. To make matters worse, Fleetwood recently found a letter in her husband's papers from her doctor containing disturbing news. The doctor believes that Fleetwood won't survive another pregnancy.  Richard never chose to share this with her, leaving her hurt at the idea that her husband places producing an heir over her own safety and health. As a result, there's quite a bit of tension in the air, which is only exacerbated by recent accusations of witchcraft that have swept through her village. Claims have been made against several women and many arrests have taken place. An unsettled and spooky feeling has pervaded the town, leaving everyone on edge.

One morning, on a walk through the woods on her property, Fleetwood meets a curious young woman named Alice Grey. Alice is a midwife, and after she proves her medical skill, Fleetwood is convinced that she is the best person to help her deliver a healthy baby. She agrees to help Fleetwood, but their arrangement is thrown into disarray when Alice is later accused of witchcraft and taken away to prison. Concerned for the lives of her baby, herself, and her new friend, Fleetwood sets out to do all she can to clear Alice's name, even if that means breaking all conventions and putting herself and her marriage at risk to do so.

This story is set against the backdrop of the real Pendle Hill Witch Trials, and many of the characters are based on actual people from that time. Fleetwood and Alice are both actual names that Halls pulled from the historical record, although their words and actions in the story are entirely fictional. Records from this time period are sparse, so The Familiars takes a lot of artistic liberties. It does, however get a lot of information about witchcraft accusations and trials right. I was reminded of Stacy Schiff's The Witches, which I read back in October; while that novel was set in Salem, a lot of the details were similar. It was cool to see history blend into the fictional story. I think Halls did a good job in that respect.

Overall, I was consistently entertained while reading, although I did feel like the pacing was a bit slow at times. I also couldn't stand Fleetwood's husband Roger. His behavior throughout the story was pretty awful and I never felt like he truly got what he deserved. I found myself wishing there was more of a romantic storyline to enjoy as well. Something about reading historical fiction makes me want a strong love interest, and that wasn't part of this story. Of course, that's more of a personal preference than a criticism of the book. It is true though that I struggled to find a relationship among the characters that I truly felt invested in. Fleetwood and Alice's friendship was okay, but it was a bit rushed. Aside from those small issues though, this was a solid book and I enjoyed it. I'm finding that I don't have much to say beyond that. It was good.

As far as the StoryGraph aspect of the challenge goes, I think its filters did do a good job of giving me what I asked for. The Familiars was dark and emotional, and it wasn't a fantasy story. I will definitely be able to use the website to help me find recommendations for mood reading in the future, so I'm glad I gave this prompt a try.

Challenge Tally

StoryGraph Onboarding 2020 Challenge: 9/12

Total Books Read in 2020: 84