The Familiars

To save her unborn child, she will trust a stranger.

To protect her secret, she must risk her life.

1612 Pendle Hill, England

Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, the mistress of Gawthorpe Hall, is with child. Anxious to provide an heir, she finds a hidden letter from her physician that warns her husband she will not survive this pregnancy.

Confused and distraught, Fleetwood wanders her estate grounds, where she discovers a stranger, a poor young woman illegally poaching. The woman introduces herself as Alice Gray, a local midwife. When Fleetwood confides in her, Alice promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But soon Alice stands accused of witchcraft as a witch-obsessed frenzy sweeps the countryside. Even the woodland creatures, or “familiars,” are thought to be dark companions of the unholy. Can Fleetwood trust that Alice Gray really is who she says she is?

As the two women’s fates become more intertwined, Fleetwood must prove Alice’s innocence. Time is running out. The witch trials are about to begin. With both their lives at stake, only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.

Set against the real Pendle Witch Trials of 1612, this compelling novel draws its characters from historical figures as it explores the lives and rights of seventeenth-century women. Ultimately it raises the question: Was witch-hunting just another way to control women who were strong, threatening or merely inconvenient?