Stacey Halls is one of the writers I discovered through a fellow blogger – Chantelle from Wild Library Blog. After reading her review of The Familiars, I knew I have to read the book … and it was love at first page read. It’s no wonder that I continued the journey with reading The Foundling, and guess what? I look forward to reading Mrs. England as well!
To begin with, both The Familiars and The Foundling are historical fiction books, inspired by real happenings. Both are super captivating and the narration creates an amazing British atmosphere, the type of book that transports you to another world.
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
Published in 2019, The Familiars was inspired by the real case of a witch hunt that happened in the 1600s in England – the Pendle Hill Witch Trials.
Stacey Halls builds on the famous witch trials and tells the story of two women, one of whom is having pregnancy troubles and the other who says can help. It is a tale of power and injustice, faith and bravery.
By the way, a familiar is a spirit attending and obeying a witch, often in the form of an animal. It is not a related to families, as I wrongly assumed 🙂
The Foundling by Stacey Halls
Published in 2020, The Foundling was inspired by the Foundling Hospital – a place established in 1739 by philanthropist Thomas Coran, to care fore babies whose parents could not look after them.
The book tells the story of a young girl who had to leave her child at The Foundling, then went to reclaim her … but the child was not there anymore. It is a powerful story about motherhood, compromise, and the enormous differences between the social classes in the 1750s England.
As a fun fact, it seems that The Foundling had a different name in the US – The Lost Orphan.
I hope these two mini-reviews raised your appetite for reading historical fiction. Both The Familiars and The Foundling are amazing stories that I recommend with all my heart!
What historical fiction books do you recommend reading? I am constantly looking for out-of-my-bubble books (my bubble being mostly European/American literature). Thank you!
‘Till next time … happy reading!
Georgiana
PS: cover picture from StacyHalls.co.uk
Readers' High Tea 
I love historical fiction. I will definitely add these books to my list.
Also, that bookmark is really pretty. 💙
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Happy to hear that, hope you’ll enjoy reading them! 😁
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So glad you enjoyed The Familiars! Don’t you just love the cover designs?
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Yes, they’re so so pretty! And Mrs England had a matching cover as well 🤩
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I’ve just her book Mrs England. Really good story telling with a Gothic overtone.
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Happy to hear that! I hope to read Mrs England soon 😁
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Have you read Woman of the Ashes? It’s a historical fiction book by the Mozambican author Mia Couto. It’s set in the 19th century and touches on colonialism. I wrote a review about it, if you’re interested. https://abagfullofstories.wordpress.com/2019/04/23/mulheres-de-cinza-woman-of-the-ashes-by-mia-couto/
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Thank you so much for the recommendation! I read you review and it sounds like a book I would enjoy for sure! 😁 And I’ve never read any book set in Gaza – it is definitely out of my bubble!
Also, it reminded me of another historical fiction with focus of women in times of disputes – The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste. The action is set in Ethiopia the very start of WWII. Here’s my review, if you’re interested:
https://readershightea.com/2021/01/04/the-shadow-king-by-maaza-mengiste-book-review/
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I heard great things about The Shadow King, but then forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me about it! It sounds great!
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