Some parts of book makes your blood boil with anger, question your beliefs and doubts about the people and their way of looking at the world. An amazingly intricate and ambitious first novel - ten years in the making - that puts an engrossing new spin on the traditional haunted-house tale.

Fleetwood has tried so very hard to have a child but nature has been cruel and she has never carried a baby to full term. Anethum graveolens.” She pointed from left to right. “ Calendula, lavendulan, camamelum.” I stared at her in bewilderment, and she laughed. “To you, and your cook—dill, marigold, lavender, chamomile.” In seventeenth century England, things and happenings not understood were often attributed to the realm of witches. It was a time with an eerie fascination with the people thought to be witches and this thinking led to many executions of those tried and convicted. Even King James of that time had a certain fascination with witchcraft. The Pendle witch trials held at Lancaster, were one of many trials held. Twelve people were accused, one died while in Lancaster prison, while eleven went to trial. Ten were found guilty and executed by hanging and one was found not guilty.I want to mention that the beginning is a bit slow. It takes time to immerse yourself in Fleetwood’s story and properly fall in love with it. So, if the beginning is a bit slow to you, I would recommend waiting it out. It does get better! In an era when women were randomly accused of being witches without any proof, it’s a terrifying period of history. It also adds weight to the book, that the Pendle Witch Trial actually took place! The Familiars is as rich in content as its cover is in beauty. Historical accuracy balanced with imagination. Exposition never weighing the book down. Tremendous characterisation and absorbing storytelling combined with appreciative nods to Du Maurier's Rebecca * Lizzy's Literary Life * Weber, Rachel (October 10, 2013). "Angry Birds film signs Disney director". Games Industry . Retrieved December 15, 2013. The novel shines a light on the glaring misogyny of the times, the exalted status of the midwife and the magic that fills the gaps that scientific knowledge hasn’t yet reached.

Manilla Press, the literary imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has signed The Household, the new novel from the author of The Familiars, The Foundling and Mrs England, Stacey Halls. Even in life I had been the little ghost, and now I was consigned to death. I held my stomach, and imagined disappearing. It would come soon, no doubt, but it would not be gentle, like the light leaving the sky. It would be painful, and terrifying, and lonely, with no cool hand on my head, no amber eyes willing me calm. There would be a trial, and Alice would die, then I would die, both of us killed in an outbreak of misfortune.’ I loved this book!! This is the style of Gothic mystery that I first fell in love with. This debut author has done an outstanding job of creating a heavily laden atmosphere of suspense, casting doubts in all directions and pitting our heroine against those she should be able to trust, against society, and against time. Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft. Fresh, deliberately uncluttered writing typifies a strong, confident debut with a perennially absorbing subject as its focus * The Daily Mail *

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It left me feeling enthralled with parts and spellbound by others * Whisperingstories *

When I found out about the house, my first question was why would they do it? And my second was, did it go to plan?" I think readers who enjoy historical fiction or books by authors such as Diane Setterfield or Kate Morton may well enjoy Stacy hall novels.

Fleetwood is seventeen and mistress of Gawthorpe Hall. She has been unable to carry a child to full term so when she meets Alice Grey, a young midwife, she begs her to help her have a healthy baby. Alice promises to help and this is the start of an unlikely friendship. Whilst the book is set during the Pendle Witch trials, for my liking, there wasn’t enough about them in the book, mainly because I love a good book featuring witches and this is what made me choose to read the story in the first place. What information there is, is historically accurate and you can tell that the author has a keen interest in the past and has done lots of research.