The Familiars Is an Unfamiliar Reworking of An Age Old Tale

Do you ever settle into bed with a new book, get 5 pages in and just think “well, I’d better go get coffee and snacks, because I’m about to be up all night”. The Familiars was like that for me. Stacey Hall’s debut didn’t feel like a debut at all. Her mature, evocative writing style managed to capture the heart of Lancashire, its people and dramatic landscape. Growing up in Lancashire, I grew up with tales of the Pendle Witches and I have been fascinated with their story ever since. It’s evident that Halls has done her research into the trials; the book is filled with real characters their trials, relationships, successes and failures coming to life in our minds. The missing holes in their history are filled up with Halls’ enchanting imagination, giving this age-old story warmth, humanity and a new lease of life.

The story follows Fleetwood Shuttleworth, the independent but young wife of a rich member of the gentry. After three miscarriages and failing health, Fleetwood is desperate to provide an heir for her family. Turning to Alice Grey, a wise woman she meets in the forest for help, an unlikely friendship blossoms. Set amidst the infamous Pendle Witch Trials of 1612, the familiars is a story about female bonds, motherhood and what it meant to be a woman in the 17th century.

Surprisingly, the witch trials played a background role throughout this book (albeit, an anxiety-inducing one), with the story paying closer attention to the bond between Fleetwood and Alice. The reader is encouraged to care deeply for the women as we see how deeply they care for one another – a refreshing take for a story about women in the 17th century.

What I thought was particularly great is that, even though there are spooky happenings throughout the story, it isn’t obvious whether it’s real or imagined. We never once see the Devices perform any witchcraft. Here, Halls allows space for the reader to decide if the Pendle Witches really were witches or just poor women caught up in the power struggle and paranoia of King James 1.

“If the Devil is poverty, and hunger, and grief, then yes, I think they know the Devil”

When considering the gothic genre, Halls’ spellbinding prose makes a perfect match for the darker themes we see in the book: paranoia, injustice, poverty, class-divide, a woman’s position in society and violence against women. In 17th century Britain, women were treated as property, to be owned by their husband. Pregnancy was an obligation and being unable to provide an heir was a failure. Having a difference of opinion was considered unwomanly and a woman was expected to simply forgive her husband for his betrayals, if she didn’t, she was deemed uncooperative. These are issues we see both Fleetwood and Alice tackle throughout the book, but are they issues we still tackle today? Many women are judged for choosing not to have children; women are often paid less; within the workplace, many women feel as though they have to act more cooperatively and with less personal opinion than their male colleagues; and even in the year 2020, religion and politics play a key role in determining the lives of women something Fleetwood and Alice would understand all too well. Considering this, Halls has managed to take a 400 year-old story and make us question how relevant its themes are today.

If, like me, you’re obsessed with The Pendle Witches (and just witchcraft in general), I cannot recommend this book enough. With truly beautiful – and at times spooky – writing, a plot that winds up and up, themes of friendship, betrayal and love, this is a truly magical book.